SMITH COUNTY, Texas — Sarah and Michael McAuliffe have lived on Smith County Road 433 for about four years. During that time, both have nearly been hit by drivers while trying to check their mail, even had their trash can hit, and had cars drive directly into their yard.
With four cameras placed around their home, many of the incidents have been recorded.
"When I moved to this street, I expected it to be a very quiet neighborhood,” Michael said.
The road is about one mile away from Lindale Junior High. Interstate 20 isn’t too far either, which the couple says makes it a popular road.
"There's more traffic on it some times of the day, then a highway and I believe it's because this is a shortcut for I-20,” he said. “It's usually when people get off, but also very much so in the mornings.”
The biggest trouble is a curve right in front of the couple’s home. A video last week captured a truck going into a ditch just past the home.
(Video from Michael McAuliffe)
"It looks like two trucks that are horsing around racing around that turn are going pretty fast and one of them lost control,” Michael said. "There is a speed limit sign right there that says 35 miles per hour, but people don't seem to recognize that."
It was the couple's neighbor who told them to check their cameras after a hubcap was found at his home.
"I wasn't expecting anything as wild as what I saw on the footage," he said.
Sarah says she's always alert when in the front yard, especially with her three dogs.
“I want to feel like if I want to go out in the driveway and paint or you know, just do anything, I want to be able to feel safe while I do it,” she said.
The video of the truck happened almost a year after the couple’s cameras caught a red car go directly into their yard after nearly hitting a car because it took the curve too fast.
“That was very terrifying for me,” Sarah said.
The couple tried reaching out to the Lindale Police Department, but their address is technically Tyler so there wasn’t anything the agency could do. They tried the Smith County Sheriff’s Office next.
“They basically said that there isn't really enough resources for them to watch all these back kind of roads, which makes a lot of sense,” Michael said.
CBS19 reached out to the Precinct 5 Constable, Jeff McClenny, to see if his officers could patrol the area. However, the office was closed for a conference and McClenny was unavailable to talk.
CBS19 also reached out to the Smith County Precinct 3 Commissioner, the elected official to represent the area to learn what the McAuliffe’s could do about any type of warning signs. Phillips said he would look into it after he spoke with the couple to learn more details.