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The day Kylie Reid found out her breast cancer was in remission was the same day she lost her son.
"I had just found out the cancer was gone and then I got the phone call that my little boy had died," she said.
It was a week before his eighth birthday last year. Christmas was 12 days away.
William "Will" Ellis was walking home from school with his three older sisters when he was hit by a car in the NSW border town of Balranald.
Ms Reid — who had been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and was in Melbourne for her last cancer appointment — raced home to discover Will had been taken to Mildura.
"My parents picked me up. It was a long time in the car … I got to see him and hold his hand at about 4 o'clock in the morning," she said between sobs.
'Locals know, they go slow'
Will was crossing the town's main street, a section of the Sturt Highway — a major freight route connecting Sydney with Adelaide.
Will's dad, Shaun Ellis, said no one saw the car coming, not Will, his sisters who watched the tragedy unfold, or a witness.
"[The driver] just didn't see him," he said.
"Locals know, they go slow because they know the schoolkids are heading across the road. He [the driver] wasn't local," Ms Reid said.
For years, the community has asked for the highway to be made safer for locals going to and from schools, a library, age-care facilities and a supermarket along the main drag.
Danger known for decades
The Local Traffic Committee made up of Balranald Shire Council, NSW Roads and Transport for NSW (formerly the Roads and Traffic Authority), and police meet regularly to discuss road safety.
Minutes from 2004 show that Balranald Shire Council asked for the speed limit on Market Street to be reduced from 50 to 40 kilometres per hour, with the addition of a supervised children's crossing be considered.
"If it was 40 [kph], [Will] would've had a 50 per cent chance to live," Mr Ellis said.
Mr Ellis said that at the intersection where Will died, traffic signs alerting drivers to pedestrians were too tall, and obscured drivers and adult pedestrians from seeing each other.
Improving the visibility of pedestrians at that intersection was also raised in 2004.
Minutes from a February 2009 meeting show that an RTA representative said a formal pedestrian crossing would not be supported as it could be detrimental to them if vehicles did not give them right of way.
Minutes from 2017 indicate a local councillor proposed a children's crossing at We Street, where Will died, but the committee said children were the responsibility of their respective schools until they returned to their parents and guardians.
"A little boy has lost his life and there was no need for it," Ms Reid said.
Minutes from 2022 and 2023 showed Transport for NSW supported the introduction of a High Pedestrian Activity Area (HPAA), with a 40kph speed limit.
Public feedback sought by the council for the proposed pedestrian zone was unanimously positive and the committee hoped it could be completed in time for the Christmas holidays.
Not soon enough for Will
"It's heartbreaking nothing's been done," Ms Reid said.
Will's parents are now lobbying the NSW government to act to avoid a similar accident happening to someone else.
At the time of publication, their petition for a pedestrian or school crossing had garnered more than 2,000 signatures.
Ms Reid said that while Will's grandmother was gathering signatures, she had counted more than 135 B-double trucks and semi-trailers in about two hours.
"They need to get their act together," Mr Ellis said.
"My son was worth more than stopping a truck for five minutes. His life mattered a lot more than that."
Ms Reid said Will's death had devastated the whole family.
"I didn't know pain like this existed … All the love and all the happiness is gone, forever," she said.
"We go through the motions every day but it's just horrible."
Reduced speed limit being planned
Data from the Centre for Road Safety showed Will's was the only fatality on Market Street between 2018 and 2023.
A coronial inquest is underway.
In a statement, Transport for NSW said it was deeply saddened by the death of Will, and it intended to install an HPAA by June 30 on Market Street.
Transport for NSW's regional director west Alistair Lunn met with Will's parents and is working with them and Balranald Shire council to investigate other safety features that could be introduced.
These included installing extra fencing, additional HPAA signage, roadside furniture and landscaping.
"It's unforgivable that my child had to die for anything to happen," Ms Reid said.