Father of Oswego veteran killed when struck by car on Mill Road urges safety upgrades at intersection

The father of an Oswego Army veteran who was struck and killed by a motorist while attempting to walk across Mill Road at Lynx Lane in Oswego July 1 urged the village board this week to make safety improvements at the intersection.

Antonio J. Villarreal, 32, of Oswego, was struck by a Nissan Sentra traveling east on Mill Road, driven by Jaylin K. Buckner, 19, of Oswego, according to village police reports.

The collision occurred as Villarreal attempted to cross Mill Road at Washington Street to Lynx Lane, police said.

Oswego Fire Protection District paramedics transported Villarreal to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead from the injuries he suffered in the crash. Buckner was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Paramedics also transported Buckner to an area hospital where he was treated for minor injuries he suffered in the crash, according to police.

During the village board’s July 13 committee-of-the-whole meeting, Jose Villarreal, Antonio’s father, called for improvements to the intersection, which is located one block south of Fox Chase Elementary School.

Referring to his son, Villarreal said, “Sergeant First Class in the Army National Guard and he had to lose his life on July 1 because of an intersection.”

Villarreal, who has worked in the trucking industry for 25 years, told the board that he looked at the intersection and pointed out the presence of at least one blind spot.

The speed limit on Washington Street and Lynx Lane are both posted at 25 mph, while the speed limit on Mill Road is 35 mph in both directions.

“From what I see, cars clearly do well over 35 (mph),” he told the board.

“I would like to be an advocate for my son,” Villarreal continued. “To make sure no family has to live through that, because, my wife and I, we’re going to have to live through that for the rest of our lives.”

Villarreal said his son served with the Army National Guard in Kabul, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq.

“For him to have to come home and this to happen to him? As a child, your parents pray over you all the time that they’re safe, that they come home, that they make it home,” Villarreal said, adding, “This didn’t have to happen. We can clearly do something about it now.”

While Villarreal acknowledged the presence of school speed zone signs and pedestrian warning lights at the intersection, he said that “something else has to happen there.”

Members of the community with similar concerns have reached out to Villarreal and his family, he told the board.

“I just ask on behalf of my son that you all consider something,” he said.

Members of the board including Village President Troy Parlier thanked Villarreal for his service, saying, “It’s things like this that really put life in perspective.”

“We send our condolences to his family and we will remember his contributions to our country and our community,” Parlier said.