WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — The intersection of Hawthorne Road and Ebert Street is one of Winston-Salem’s busiest intersections located in the Ardmore neighborhood.
This year, it’s a hotspot for car crashes. On Sunday, Katy Abbott said a driver crashed their car into her fence and left the scene.
“We did not see it happen, but our neighbor did, and the car did backed up and drove away, so we don’t know who it was, but we have an $800 hole in our fence that we have to repair,” Abbott said.
According to Winston-Salem police, there have been five crashes at the intersection so far this year.
That’s an average one crash like this every other month.
Abbott says there is a blind spot from a tree and drivers speeding up a hill on Hawthorne Road are one of the many contributors to the crashes.
“I’m becoming increasingly concerned for my children. They play in our backyard, and I’ve always felt that this fence would keep them safe on this busy intersection, but with this new hole in our fence, I’m worried they’re not safe anymore, and it’s keeping me up at night,” Abbott said.
It’s a fear her next-door neighbor Monique Johnson has had for months.
She says many drivers have sped past school buses her daughter gets on.
“People are flying … They’re going over the speed limit. You can feel it. If you’re standing on the sidewalk, you can feel the air hit you … They’re going that fast,” Johnson said.
We reached out to Winston-Salem police to find out what they’re doing to curb the number of crashes at the intersection of Hawthorne Road and Ebert Street, and they sent us the following statement:
“We are still diligently addressing the concern and involving the Traffic Enforcement Unit to see if a speed check assessment is needed. We want to ensure our community that we take their concerns seriously and will look into them appropriately.”
–WSPD
