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NCDOT recommends guard rail at deadly Matthews curve

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family and friends of a young girl made a plea before the Matthews Town Council Monday night asking for new safety measures along the road where she was killed.

Family members went to the council to ask for support behind the DOT’s decision.

Lyla Chaudhry, 7, died in June after her grandfather’s car drove off Sam Newell Road and hit an embankment.

"Even if it saves one life, it's worth putting up tomorrow," her grandfather, Ali Chaudhry, said.

The Department of Transportation officials said they would recommend putting in a guard rail along that curve. The process could take 12-18 months.

Officials said they're basing the decision on several factors, including crash history, traffic volume and the layout of the road.

There have been 75 crashes in the area where Lyla died since 2013, DOT officials said.

“It would make a 9-year-old life mean a little bit more, you know what I’m saying” Chaudhry said. “Because she couldn't do anything as a woman, so at least as a little girl, she could save someone."

Lyla's grandfather was not charged in the crash.

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