What will it take for the Houston TranStar cameras to record?

HOUSTON – Houston is known for a lot of good things, but when it comes to road rage shooting incidents, we lead the nation according to Gun Violence Archive.

This is an alarming statistic and something Houstonians are not proud of.

TranStar cameras along roadways are used to monitor traffic and incidents, but the system does not record video or images.

KPRC 2’s Re’Chelle Turner and photojournalist Oscar Chavez spent the day asking city leaders what it would take for the TranStar cameras to record.

Turner and Chavez also spoke with family members of road rage victims, including the parents of Louise Wilson and Paul Castro.

“Tomorrow is Louise’s 18th birthday. We weren’t really looking forward to this day. She won’t be there,” Daniel Wilson said.

Daniel Wilson and his wife Krista spoke to Turner about their daughter Louise, who was shot and killed while driving on the Pierce Elevated.

SEE ALSO: ‘It’s a senseless act’ 17-year-old driver killed in possible road rage shooting was heading to Galveston to visit friends

Houston police have no leads in the case and have released a sketch of the man they say opened fire.

Louise’s parents believe their daughter’s case could have turned out very differently if TranStar cameras had filmed the violent shooting.

“We even scoured Google Maps for any business that might have a camera; we passed all this information to the detectives through our family. The detectives were very thorough and every place we called they said, “Hey, do you have a camera?” Detectives were already there. But I mean, again, these cameras have a direct view of the road, so they would just be an essential tool that they could use,” Wilson said.

The idea of ​​TranStar camera recording is not new. This is something that Houston police have discussed as part of their Safe Roadway initiative. The plan was created after David Castro was shot and killed after leaving an Astros game in 2021.

“I think what happens is a lot of these bad people know that they have no chance of getting caught if they do something on the highways, so they’re quite at it. “Comfortable to break the law knowing that all they have to do is speed away and no one will ever catch them, that’s something that needs to be fixed,” Paul Castro said.

Turner asked Mayor John Whitmire if having TranStar cameras record video was something he wanted to propose or see happen.

“You need safeguards, you need due process, you need all the good governance you need, protocols. But at the end of the day, it’s about public safety, about ending road rage, about helping law enforcement take a different look at our lanes and our roads,” he said. declared.

Mayor Whitmire says he’s already been briefed on the TranStar camera recordings and said he wants to end road rage shootings.

Turner spoke with a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transportation, who said the idea had been discussed. Turner also contacted Houston TranStar about the cost of camera recording and memory storage.

She waits for a response.

SEE ALSO: Family calls for killer to be arrested after teen girl dies in road rage shooting in downtown Houston

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