(Credit: Paul Nelson)
WEBER COUNTY – Residents in a West Weber neighborhood say the road where an eight-year-old boy was hit by a car and killed is becoming increasingly unsafe, and drivers are going much faster than they should.
There aren’t very many cars using 950 North near 4400 West, compared to other streets. However, residents who live there say it’s beginning to feel like a major thoroughfare.
Homeowner Patty Williams says, “This is supposed to be a quiet, 25 mile an hour street. It’s crazy how they’ll hit that corner and they’ll gun it, clear up to the hill.”
She didn’t know the boy who was struck, but, she says she frequently sees kids riding their bikes along that road.
Williams says students from a nearby high school decide to use their street instead of 4700 West because they’re trying to get around traffic that backs up from a four-way stop.
“My daughter, she says, ‘Gosh, between eight and three o’clock,’ when she has been home during the day, ‘It’s crazy,’” she says.
Some homeowners have reportedly decided to take matters into their own hands. One man, who didn’t want to be named, says one resident decided to use his own money to pay for a speed limit sign.
Plus, he says, “One of our neighbors out a cone out part way on the street to try and slow people down.”
He says there’s a sharp bend in the road next to his house and cars are frequently cutting across the corner because drivers are going too fast. Also, a portion of the road that used to be dirt has now been paved over, so vehicles can pick up speed a lot quicker. He says some people didn’t even slow down when officers were investigating the crash that killed the boy.
“When police and fire trucks and the ambulances were there, people would come whipping around the corner and putting their brakes on because they didn’t even look around the corner when they went,” he adds.
Investigators still don’t believe speed was a factor in Thursday’s crash. Still, some residents are calling on the city to place speed bumps to slow traffic down.