ST. LOUIS — A group of neighbors in north St. Louis are furious after someone side swiped their cars and then drove away.
It happened Wednesday evening on Pope Avenue near O’Fallon Park. Neighbors in the area said they want the city to install speed humps to prevent people from speeding down their street.
However, city leaders said there are many reasons why that can’t happen.
Along Pope Avenue the speed limit is 30 miles per hour, but Janitria Phillips said people rarely follow that rule.
"They constantly speed up and down the street," Phillips said.
She thinks it was speeding that led someone to run into her car on Wednesday night.
"My car was pushed into the van in front of me into the back of my neighbor’s van. It was like it had to be a dream this can’t be real," Phillips said.
But, it was real, and Phillips along with several others on the block were caught in the swipe.
"All of this my tires flat my little quarter panel of my door down here. Her car actually got stuck and I say she because the witness said it was a female," Phillips said.
Gaylord Frazier lives down the street from where the accident happened. He said he saw the entire incident unfold.
"All I heard was the sound first you know first you hear the noise, boom. I knew it was a car accident. Then, I see them trying to get away so I’m trying to come down and get a license plate number,” Frazier said.
But it was too late the driver drove away from the scene. Now Phillips and a few others are left with hundreds of dollars’ worth of damage.
"We defiantly need some speed humps and I would like to see some speed limits posted," Phillips said.
John Collins Muhammad is the alderman of the 21st ward where the accident happened. He said the city would love to install speed humps on the street however, Pope Avenue is one of 100 streets along a bus and snow route. Therefore, federal and city guidelines prohibit speed bumps from being placed there.
Muhammad said an alternative solution could be for police in the area to develop a heavier presence, which could detour people from speeding.
