CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — When you think of Shell Road in Chesapeake, you can’t help but mention the Johnson family.
“My entire family has lived on this road for over 100 years,” Brittni Hemperley said.
And many of them still do.
“I have family next door and across the street,” Hemperley said.
But these days, Hemperley says that family’s safety is in jeopardy because of drivers speeding up and down the road.
“I feel like over the last year it has gotten so much worse,” she said.
That issue came to a head Sunday morning when a driver lost control, skidded through Hemperley’s front yard and slammed into her SUV. The crash only took a matter of seconds.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
“When I got out here, there was smoke barreling out of the car,” witness Ashley McDilda said. “The driver jumped out of the car, apologized, then get back in and tried to put it in reverse, but he wasn’t able to.”
The driver was given a ticket by police.
Residents say he got off lucky.
“It makes me physically ill because anybody could have been out here,” Hemperley said.
The speed limit on the stretch of road is 25 mph. Hemperley tried to stress that by putting up signs attached to her mailbox.
“Actually, only half is up there because somebody ran into our mailbox at some point and the other half got knocked down,” she said.
That same mailbox that continues to get beat up.
Police say there have been seven crashes in the last two years on Shell Road.
Hemperley believes if nothing is done, there will be more.
“I would love for the city to put some speed bumps,” Hemperley said. “Something to help us out here.”
Officers say they are investigating if the road is an issue. If it is, changes will be made.
