UNION COUNTY, Tenn. — A Union County woman is begging for help to fix a road in her neighborhood.
"I've begged and begged for help, I just need someone to listen to me," said resident Renee Williams.
Deer Trail Road in Sharps Chapel is so bad that its unsafe for an ambulance to travel on it. This one and a half-mile stretch in Union County is completely washed out. Deer Trail Road is choppy and unpaved, and it's frustrating for several residents, including Renee Williams.
“I would like to stay in my home because it's modified for my wheelchair and everything,” Williams said. “I just need help."
Williams was diagnosed with scoliosis as a child. In 1991 she was diagnosed with a neural muscular disease.
"It’s called Congenital Myography. It causes me to have complete respiratory failure," Williams said.
With these medical conditions, Williams needs at-home care. But it’s difficult for anyone to travel to and from her home both safely and quickly.
"People that come to see me have a hard time getting to me including my nurse, my respiratory therapist," Williams said.
Even in a medical emergency, this road is so bad it's too dangerous for an ambulance.
"That's because the ambulances are top-heavy,” said Jenna Bland, a registered nurse with Suncrest Home Health. “If they were to hit one of those trenches, it would endanger the paramedic's life and the EMT's life."
However, finding a solution is a challenge. Deer Trail Road is a classified as a private road, not a county road, and it’s illegal to use county funds to fix it.
“The road superintendent has his hands tied by state law," Union County Commissioner Jeff Brantley said. “Because of the variances, the county can't even adopt the road even though we tried. It’s not a possibility.”
But Williams is not giving up, and some members of her community, including Commissioner Brantley, are now raising money to fix the road themselves.
“To do the job correctly it would take about $5,000 dollars,” said Commissioner Brantley.
It's a large project to take on, but it's one that could be life-changing.
If you’d like to help, you can send donations to:
2850 Sharps Chapel Road
Sharps Chapel, TN 37866