Wilson Family lobbies Texas lawmakers to safeguard traffic cam footage as daughter’s road rage murder case goes cold

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - In December of 2023, Louise Wilson, a teenager from Whitney, was the victim of a road rage incident in Houston that took her life.

Although it’s been more than a year since her death, her parents are still fighting to tell her story, in hopes of finding the person responsible.

“When Louise died, I felt very shocked for a long time, and very hopeless,” said Louise’s mother, Krista Wilson.

“What was is no longer, so I think our new mission is to just keep moving forward.”

Now the Wilsons are taking a tragedy and using it as fuel to push for new legislation for road safety.

“Of course, with our daughter’s death, we really want to do anything we can to bring change to fight road rage,” said Louise’s father, Daniel Wilson.

Last week, Daniel testified in front of the Texas House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation in favor of House Bill 2621.

The bill would require the Texas Department of Transportation to archive footage from their cameras for 30 days and allow law enforcement to use that footage for their investigations.

“I witnessed firsthand the pain-staked efforts of Houston Police detectives combing the scene of my daughter’s murder for shell casing and evidence through the lens of a TxDOT camera,” said Daniel Wilson.

“While improved camera systems would make a significant difference, even basic records that we have now would have been invaluable.”

This is not the first time Daniel has made the trip to the capital either.

In mid-April, Daniel told his daughter’s story in front of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, where he spoke in favor of House Bill 795.

“Louise was just trying to avoid an accident when she braked suddenly,” said Daniel.

“That was all it took for someone to pull up beside her and open fire. She was hit twice, once in the chest and once in the legs. Just like that, she was gone.”

If passed, House Bill 795 would increase the penalty for firing a gun from or into a vehicle to a first-degree felony.

As the law currently stands, the offense is only a first-degree felony if it results in an injury.

Representative Ann Johnson, who authored the bill, says this potential change in the law is long overdue.

“What this bill addresses is a rising crisis in our state with regard to road rage,” said Representative Johnson.

“Specifically, in the city of Houston, over the last decade, we have seen over 215 incidents where people have been shot.”

While getting these bills signed into law would be a victory in their mission to help make Texas roads safe, the Wilsons say there is still more work to be done in Louise’s memory.

“Ultimately, we’d like to see grant funding, something specifically for Louise in her name, or a bill titled after her,” said Daniel.

Until then, the Wilsons will continue to tell Louise’s story, with a sea of support behind them.

“I don’t think a story, or a death needs to be so large for it to draw people in,” said Krista.

“I really don’t know why we have the followers that we have, but I can only thank God for that. It helps spread Louise’s story, because I can’t do it alone.”