Hutto mom wants change at busy intersection after son's motorcycle accident

Mom pleads for traffic control on busy intersection

A Hutto mother is grieving the loss of her 22-year-old son after he was killed in a motorcycle accident on Highway 79 on October 2024. FOX 7 Austin's Jessica Rivera has more.

HUTTO, Texas - A Hutto mother is grieving the loss of her 22-year-old son after he was killed in a motorcycle accident on Highway 79 in October 2024, and she is pleading for some changes.

The backstory:

Those close to Ryker Bradley knew he lived his life to the fullest.

Last fall, he passed away after returning from the Marines, impacting his family, friends and neighbors.

"He rode with the Leathernecks, the motorcycle club for the Marine Corps. He rode with them. He wasn't a member yet, but he was really wanting to be," says Heather Gauvin, Bradley's mother.

When Gauvin talks about her son, tears were brought to her eyes, realizing how her son was taken from her too soon.

"His whole life he wanted to be in the Marine Corps, and um, and I mean ever since kindergarten he always said, you know, he was going to be in the Army, is what he would always say. And um, anyways that never changed," says Gauvin.

Bradley early enlisted in the Marines after he graduated high school in 2020. For four years, he toured overseas and in Hawaii.

"He always had stories for days. Like he would tell us the tallest tales, even as a little boy. Like his stories were astronomical. When he got home, it was just wonderful because he had been gone for four years," says Gauvin.

Bradley returned home in August 2024, and landed a job as a safety officer for Hutto ISD.

"He was also like a mentor. He was he was someone that kids would go talk to. If he noticed that they were having a tough time he'd pull him to the side and just talk to them," says Gauvin.

Two months after that, his mother and father heard news no parent ever wants to hear.

Dig deeper:

On a busy intersection, Bradley was killed by a truck while driving his motorcycle in Hutto.

"I was in shock at first like I just I remember I remember not crying for a second because I didn't believe it," says Gauvin.

There have been dozens of reports of accidents at the intersection of Highways 79 and 130.

People living in Hutto have been asking for changes to be made in that area.

Including the wife of fallen officer Chris Kelley, who was killed in the line of duty in 2015, who is now asking her community to "move over" for first responders.

And Bradley's family is also asking for something to be done about regulating traffic control in the area.

What's next:

"At that intersection when it comes off of 79 it goes from 60 miles per hour to 40 miles per hours. Nobody's going 40 miles per hour down that stretch like they're just not," says Gauvin.

Gauvin hopes sharing her son's story will make people slow down and keep their eyes peeled for motorcyclists.  

"I mean there just needs to be change and I want to see change happen, and I really hope that this can help bring awareness and can help provide that opportunity for change to happen. My son deserves to be remembered," says Gauvin.

A memorial sign has been put up at the intersection honoring Bradley.

Gauvin says her son's story won’t end there. She hopes to create change, saying, no family should lose a loved one because of carelessness.