HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — Making the intersection at Shell Road and Greenbriar Avenue a four-way stop has not curtailed drivers from speeding and running through the stop signs, and they have not stopped the crashes, with another one happening Thursday.
Residents in Hampton told 10 On Your Side that it was only a matter of time before someone gets hurt at the intersection, and a day after a story aired about it, a vehicle crashed into a 1930s home. It’s the aftermath, residents say, of a vehicle traveling about twice the posted speed limit and then crashing.
“I saw a vehicle coming up Greenbriar, probably about 50 mph, and I don’t know how he did it, but he went directly through my car, this pole, and smashed his car,” Alfred Myers said.
Fred Henry’s father built the home the car crashed into. Asked what he thinks will make a difference?
“I don’t have the total answer,” Henry said. “Somebody said speed bumps.”
Speed bumps are in another part of Hampton that also has historic homes, on Chesapeake Avenue, and with a view of the bay.
“I’ve lived here for about 20 years now, and I’ve actually seen accidents in all three properties,” Sonny Chambers said.
Charlene Thompson, who first alerted 10 On Your Side, is calling on drivers to do the right thing. Previously, there were a pair of stop signs on Greenbriar Avenue with the intersection of Shell Road. The stop signs on Shell Road at that intersection are more recent, and signs cautioning drivers of the new signs are on the road.
“We’re asking you all [to] obey the speed,” Thompson said. “Stop at the stop signs. We don’t need any accidents here any longer. And we definitely don’t want any type of fatalities, whatsoever. So I’m asking you all, when you come in Hampton, and you come down Shell Road and Greenbriar [Avenue], just obey the speed laws and the stop signs.”
Police charged Jurl Vincent Sterns Jr., 68, with reckless driving by failing to control his vehicle in connection to Thursday’s crash, and he has a similar case from last month.
In recent days, police have given tickets to more than two-dozen drivers around the Shell Road and Greenbriar Avenue intersection.
Stiffer penalties and a comprehensive study are under consideration.