The Orange County (OC) Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the one-year pilot Roadside Memorial Program during their meeting on May 19. The program will add signs on the side of roadways warning drivers “to commemorate victims who lost their lives in vehicle-related accidents and to promote traffic safety.”
Signs will display warnings such as “Watch Your Speed,” “ Don’t Text and Drive” and “Don’t Drink and Drive.” The pilot will last until April 26, 2027, after which its permanence will rely on public interest.
The Office of OC Public Works has worked with the Ohlwiler family from Rancho Santa Margarita since 2024 to write a formal policy for the program. During the meeting, the Ohlwiler family spoke about their own vehicular accident story.
“While we were walking on the sidewalk, a driver under the influence of illegal drugs veered off the road, going approximately over 50 miles an hour, onto the sidewalk striking all three of us,” Kyle Ohlwiler said. “Hayley and I suffered serious injuries and our son, Madden, was killed. In a single moment, our lives changed forever.”
The accident happened at Antonio Parkway and Oak Tree Lane in Las Flores, Calif., in April 2023. The location where the accident happened is near a school and is frequently populated by walkers, runners and young children.
“This loss has been almost more than we can bear. However, we have made it our mission to help affect change in our son’s honor,” Ohlwiler said. “We are seeking for a sign to be placed which will not only raise awareness on driving under the influence of drugs, but to go a step further and deter our community from engaging in such behaviors.”
In 2025, Orange County ranked fifth in overall number of fatal and serious injury crashes statewide with 897 crashes. Most accidents involved alcohol and speeding.
“No one wants to be afraid of taking a walk on a sidewalk on a beautiful afternoon and think you could possibly lose everything that is important to you,” Madden’s grandmother Karen Wright said.
OC Operations and Public Management will be in charge of fabricating, placing and maintaining the signs. To have a memorial sign installed, applications must be submitted to MyOCeServices.ocgov.com by family members or sponsors of victims.
Signs can only be commemorated to victims killed in an accident, the accident must have occurred after Jan. 1, 2020 and six months must have passed between the accident and application.
No fees will be incurred for the installing of signs during the pilot year, however estimates say each sign will cost about $1000. Funding will be provided by Fund 115 because of its role in public education and awareness.
Although this is the pilot period, signs will remain up for five years. Families and sponsors can request the sign to be kept up for another five years for a fee that is yet to be determined.
“While a sign is not going to bring back your son, it will help us to promote a messaging that might prevent other accidents and deaths,” Vice Chair Katrina Foley said to the Ohlwilers.
Alejandra Rodriguez Zepeda is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at alejar16@uci.edu
Edited by Tracy Sandoval
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