INDIANAPOLIS — Several people on the northeast side of Indianapolis are raising concerns about an accident-heavy intersection.
Two wrecks happened back-to-back last weekend at the intersection of E. 62nd Street and Knyghton Road. Those incidents come after a long list of wrecks at the intersection, according to neighbors.
If you drive up to the 3-way stop at 62nd and Knyghton, you will quickly notice the mangled guard rail and odds and ends lying around from a series of wrecks.
“The accidents that have happened the worst have happened at such high speeds that you hear it when it happens,” said neighbor Michael Abel, who lives right at the end of the intersection where 62nd Street ends.
Abel said he has seen at least 10 crashes over the last three years as drivers blow through the intersection not realizing his driveway is not a part of 62nd Street. He has even put boulders at the edge of his driveway as a sort of barrier.
“And they [cars] go through and end up on these boulders,” Abel described. “Which you can see have been displaced by the most recent accident.”
While some cars have crashed directly into or onto the boulders at the edge of Abel’s driveway, others have crashed after driving down it. A large gash sits on part of his driveway as a permanent mark from one crash that ultimately ended in his neighbor’s yard.
“They ended up rolling through the intersection at approximately 60 miles per hour,” he said. “Hit these boulders, ended up taking out part of the driveway and landed in the corner of my neighbor’s house.”
Abel said he vividly remembers that particular wreck.
“By the time I got out, fire was starting from the engine section and I ended up smashing a window to pull two people out,” he said. “And I unfortunately couldn’t get to the driver who I found out later passed away at the hospital.”
At least two wrecks at the intersection have been fatal over the last few years. While it is not always this violent, neighbors say speeding and blowing through stop signs are daily occurrences.
“They need to slow down,” said neighbor Selena Suiter. “This is a neighborhood. There are people that live here, there are kids that are here, families, people out walking. This is a neighborhood, slow down. It’s not a cut-through.”
Those living in the area say drinking and driving is likely a factor in several of the previous crashes, but they still hope the city could make a few changes like adding flashing lights, more signs, speed bumps and squaring of the intersection.
“Just anything to try and provide a lot more visual stimulation to drivers late at night to know that this is a stop and that 62nd ends here,” Abel said.
The Indianapolis Department of Public Works said it has added additional signage to the intersection over the years.
Meanwhile, the department encourages neighbors to start a Street Change Petition to request changes to the intersection. The petition must be signed by 75% of affected property owners to initiate a traffic study, then the department will decide whether or not the change is warranted.
