TAMPA, Fla. — People living in one Tampa neighborhood says there’s no time to wait for traffic safety measures after a driver running a stop sign caused a crash.
“Our kids, they come hang on the fence and they say ‘hi’ to everyone as they walk to Publix,” said Eva Carballa.
“She send me a picture and it’s actually a picture of a vehicle into my house this time,” said Greg Carballa.
The picture of their broken fence makes you cringe.
“We went through a range of emotions. 'How do we fix this? Do we stay here?'" said Carballa. "What is the best course of action for our family?”
A driver ran the stop sign in front of Greg and Eva Carballa’s yard in the Hampton Terrace neighborhood of Tampa, forcing another driver through their fence into their house. The accident happened at North 12th Street and West Idlewild Avenue on March 15.
“At any point in time, our children, our animals could’ve been out here,” said Carballa.
It is the second time a driver has crashed into their yard.
“A stop sign could be put out tomorrow,” said Eva Carballa.
In Hampton Terrace, neighbors are increasingly concerned after four stop sign related accidents in the past year.
Surveillance video from around the corner shows a driver of a white car running a stop sign and hitting a pregnant driver.
“We know there’s been recommendations made about improvements on Idlewild and a couple other areas but we cannot get a timeline of exactly when this is going to happen,” said Bill Truett, president of the Hampton Terrace Community Association.
Truett say the city has been working on capitol road improvements to calm traffic for 18 months including adding an elevated intersection. Neighbors are demanding more urgency.
“I feel like at this intersection, I’ve got the most to lose and at this point, and I don’t want that to happen. We’re trying to be proactive,” said Carballa.
