ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, neighbors were woken up by a crash at the intersection of Seminary Road and Fillmore Avenue in Alexandria. It's not the first, and they worry it won't be the last.
In fact, WUSA9 spoke to residents after a driver crashed into a fence, at the exact same intersection in March.
"3:45 I heard this really loud boom," says Ron McNeely. He told WUSA9 he ran out of his home to find one car smashed up against the utility pole and another badly damaged in the roadway.
McNeely says he yelled out to the people in the car to see if anyone was hurt and if they had called 911.
"Then the transformer blew right after I walked out," he said.
McNeely moved into his home in 2019, and since then "three telephone poles in two years – twice they came through my fence in the last year and a half."
His neighbor, Sandra Acosta, also expressed frustrations about the way people drive along Seminary Road. She was also woken up by the crash.
"I was not surprised because they've hit my house, the fence like six times," said Acosta.
This time around, it was a utility pole that was hit, causing a power outage for hours. Last time, it was McNeely's fence. They worry what will be next.
"Eventually, somebody's gonna get killed," said McNeely.
Seminary Road has been a trouble spot for some time now according to the City of Alexandria.
"This is clearly a high-speed area and we have seen a significant volume of crashes. We have lowered the speed limit, increased enforcement and we have plans to make more significant improvements," said Alexandria City Mayor Justin Wilson.
He told WUSA9, "Our staff is looking to see what additional actions can be taken to reduce speed and improve safety."
But he also stressed the need for drivers to hold themselves accountable.
"We need people to slow down and respect our neighborhoods," said Wilson.
In January of 2016, they adopted a Vision Zero resolution with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2028. Part of their efforts included a citywide crash analysis in 2021.
Through that study they found that between January of 2016 and June of 2021, there were 239 reportable crashes on Seminary Road between I-395 and the city limit. Of those 239, two involved fatal injuries, eight involved severe injuries, and 59 involved injuries that weren't life-threatening.
The speed limit for that stretch of roadway was lowered from 35 mph to 25 mph, and two digital speed limit signs were installed to show drivers their current speed, but McNeely said it's not enough.
"They dropped the speed limit but they don't enforce it so everybody flies because they know they never see the police department down here," said McNeely.
There's a traffic light at the intersection of Dawes Avenue and Seminary Road and another at Echols Avenue. McNeely suggested they redesign the stretch of roadway.
"Traffic's flying and you'll see people just whipping through. No one has any courtesy to let anyone go through. This two block stretch of road there's a wreck almost every week. They need to make some changes to how the traffic flows," he said.
Until things change, neighbors are left fearing the worst.
"That someone's gonna get killed," said Acosta.
McNeely said, "Or eventually someone's car is gonna come through one of our houses and kill us in our own homes."