Preston Sant stood at the place where his son died, looking back on what has been the toughest year of his life. Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the death of his only child.
"There are times you just don't think it's real," said Preston.
Jordan Sant was hit by a car and killed along a deadly stretch of State Road 547 in the town of Kendall, about 15 miles from the Canadian border at Sumas.
Jordan was killed on a stormy night as he rode his bike home from a friend's house. He was one month shy of his 15th birthday.
Jordan's death was just one of what locals say have been about a dozen deaths, injuries and accidents there, over the years. The three-mile section of highway is long and flat. Cars often use it to pass drivers who are observing the 45 mile an hour speed limit. It's common to see people racing through town at 60 miles per hour.
The road is dotted with at least four roadside memorial markers. The latest, a cross put in the ground in memory of Jordan.
"He was such a great kid," said Preston. "It was a goal for me to be the best father I could be. Now, I have to be the best person I can be for everybody."
And he is.
Preston and a group of neighbors are lobbying their legislators for funding to build a three mile $3-million trail that would get pedestrians and bicyclists off the side of the road.
The town of Kendall is mostly poor with many people forced to walk to places like the grocery store or school.
Now, though, there is hope.
One year after Jordan's death, the community has been awarded a $75,000 grant to study the feasibility of a trail. It's working on a $315,000 grant that would begin engineering. Both opportunities seem like small miracles to townspeople. But it is a long process.
"It's very frustrating to me because as far as I'm concerned we are playing Russian roulette with the people who walk this highway," said Pastor Vern Yadon.
Yadon is the person who usually has to break the news to families about another accident and he worries the process is taking too long.
"I dread the day or night I have to go talk to another family, because it's going to happen," he said.
For now, the community pushes forward and waits. If the trail comes at all, it likely won't be for another five or six years.
Preston Sant considers the loss of his boy a sacrifice to the community he loves -- one he hopes will not have been made in vain.
"Let's work on this and get it done," he said. "Let's work on it like it's important; because it is."
