It was the second fatal accident at the rural crossroads since late October, when the Calhoun County Commission announced an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation to install a caution signal there. Almost four months later, the signal is not up.

"I've heard a lot of promises made, but I haven't seen a light go up," said Doug Jennings, owner of Doug's Grocery, which stands across the street from where the accident occurred. Jennings also is a first-respondent for the Knighten's Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department.

The child, Gage Pierce, was riding in a car westbound on U.S. 278 with his father, Keith Daniel Pierce, and uncle, David Dewayne Pierce, when their car and an 18-wheeler turning onto U.S. 278 collided. The child was taken to Children's Hospital in Birmingham, where he died Saturday morning.

The accident is under investigation by the Alabama State Troopers.

At the crossroads, drivers on Roy Webb Road must contend with traffic on U.S. 278 moving at the posted 55-mile-per-hour limit or faster. The situation worsened several years ago when a regional landfill opened nearby, causing an increased traffic flow, according to store owner Jennings.

On a weekday morning at the intersection, he said, "You'd think you were sitting in Oxford by the interstate."

Jennings said he'd seen more than two dozen accidents at the intersection since he took over the store 11 years ago. In November, a 34-year-old man died there in a two-vehicle accident.

In March of 1999, Jennings said, he began lobbying for a caution signal - which would flash red to drivers on Roy Webb, and yellow to those on 278. The Calhoun County Commission announced an agreement with the Department of Transportation to install one in late October.

Four months later, battered stop signs still halt the north-south traffic, and vehicles on U.S. 278 still barrel through without a caution light to warn them they are approaching a dangerous intersection.

County Commissioner Lea Fite, whose district includes the intersection, said he does not know why the light has not been installed.

"It's a sad situation, and I really hate it," Fite said. "I thought it would have already been put up."

Fite said he has set aside about $6,000 to pay for the signal, which normally would be installed by a private contractor.

The county engineer, Charles Markert, said he was waiting to receive the necessary paperwork on the signal from the Department of Transportation in Montgomery. He hopes to receive the documents this week, he said, but they could take two weeks or more to arrive.

Doug Jennings said he just hopes the light is installed before another accident occurs. The long-awaited caution signal, he said, "would be the only good thing that could happen out of all this."