GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — At the intersection of Spencer Street NE and Lafayette Avenue NE, a yellow hydrant is turned over, a street sign — snapped at its base — is on the ground and dozens of water bottles are scattered on the sidewalk.
“My kids can’t play outside ‘cause there’s shrapnel from here all the way to the back,” said Jennifer Hoye, pointing to the back of her home which sits on the corner.
The debris stemmed from a collision between two vehicles that happened on Wednesday. Hoye caught it all on her security camera.
WATCH:
“I thought someone was breaking in almost. That was the sound that I heard,” Hoye said during an interview with Fox 17 on Thursday afternoon. “So, I was like ‘Do I come outside, do I not come outside.’ And I decided to come outside. Then there’s a vehicle right here in my front yard, 10-feet from the doorway. It was starting to smoke. There was an older lady in it. Helped her get out of her vehicle. So, the other car was upside down here.”
Hoye said one car hit her car that was parked outside from behind and pushed it 20 feet. It's currently totaled, sitting in her driveway.
She’s hoping the driver’s insurance will cover the damage. However, she grateful that none of children on the block were outside playing.
“No kids were outside thankfully,” Hoye said. “Like I said, it was a rainy day which helped. And, it was 3 o’clock so everyone was at school.”
This week, 2 vehicles collided at the intersection of Lafayette & Spencer. Below is what’s left behind.
— Lauren Edwards (@LaurenEdwardsTV) October 13, 2022
A mom caught it all in video and says she’s grateful her kids weren’t outside playing. She’s also hoping something can be done to make the intersection safer. // @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/D1BmA0wG3F
Hoye’s lived in the home since December 2019, and since then she’s seen a number of accidents at the intersection and in the area.
Each time, she and her neighbors have reached out the city to let them know and have asked them to do something about it, she said.
“I’ve asked several times. We usually have an accident about every two to three months right here,” Hoye recalled. “I’ve asked either ‘Can we put speed humps? Can we do a roundabout?”
Hoye said she has not submitted a formal complaint or request to the city. She’s only spoken to them.
However, she said she gotten nowhere.
Other neighbors told Fox 17 that they’ve reached out to the city about the fast driving and accidents, and they too felt unheard.
“The response has been you guys can go and ask the city about it. And the city’s response has always been ‘Well you can pay for it,’” Hoye said. “But I’m a renter. Why would I pay for this? I’m not going to be here that long. Something else needs to happen.”
Fox 17 spoke with Mobile GR about the incident. They said that they have no record of a complaint of that intersection or a request to assess it.
They said via email:
“Residents seeking to make their neighborhood streets safer are encouraged to contact the City’s Mobile GR Department by calling 311 or 616-456-3000. Residents can send a request to Mobile GR at 300 Monroe Ave NW, Grand Rapids 49503. They can do so online at https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/Residents/Report-an-Issue/Mobile-App [grandrapidsmi.gov] and also can use the GRCity311 app available for iPhone and Android.”
They also said over the phone that before they can put up a traffic control device, they have to abide by state and federal guidelines.
In the meantime, Hoye hopes that drivers will slow down because lives are at stake.
"We used to have one of those like little guys that says you know ‘Kids are playing’ and that got ran over,” she said.
