SILVER SPRING, Md. — After neighbors said they’re tired of seeing fatal accidents in Silver Spring, they are asking for a stop light to be added to a very busy intersection. One teen said the intersection is an example her parents use of why she must practice safe driving.
“I'm very cautious when I drive, and my parents always say to practice defensive driving," 17-year-old Sachini said. "Seeing accidents happen everywhere, it's very scary."
Sachini's neighbor, Victor Garcia-Escalante, is calling on the state of Maryland to add a stop light to the intersection of Connecticut Avenue near Dean Road.
“We are sick and tired of seeing somebody else die,” Garcia-Escalante said.
In the 16 years Garcia-Escalante said he has lived in the community, he’s recorded several accidents, including one the week prior to talking to WUSA9.
“I looked right in the window, and a huge truck was rolling over that completely landed on the other side," he said. "We would like to see a signal light right there."
Victor said accidents from Connecticut Avenue often flip onto the side streets, and said they’ve knocked his fence out twice.
“There is no other signal light close by -- the next signal is on independence which is two miles from here so everybody comes speeding.”
WUSA9 reached out to MDOT late Tuesday afternoon asking for specifics about what it would take to get a stop light added, but has yet to receive a response. The agency’s website offers some information, and a link to a service request.
Montgomery County’s Interactive Crash Map shows there have been some serious accidents in that intersection. Now the community hopes the letter they’re drafting will bring drivers to a stop.
"Please add a stoplight," Sachini said. "I don't want to die in front of my house."