Neighbors worry about speeding on College Street after car fleeing police hits porch
Holly Bernhardt heard a noise outside her West College Street window early in the morning on Feb. 3.
When Bernhardt looked out, she saw a car on fire, flipped over on its roof.
"I was like 'What the hell is happening?'" Bernhardt said.
The Springfield Police Department says the driver of that car was fleeing from police who tried to pull him over earlier for going the wrong way down a one-way street. The car, a Chevy Malibu, went off the roadway, hit a light pole and then took out the front porch of a home before landing upside down and catching fire.
Speed and impairment are believed to be factors in the cash, according to Sgt. Benton Haines. No one suffered serious injuries.
The stretch of College Street where the crash occurred (between Grant Avenue and Kansas Expressway) is part of the old Route 66. Haines said the curves in the roadway and narrow lanes are designed to promote slower driving patterns, but neighbors like Bernhardt said they routinely see drivers flying down the street at speeds double the 30 mph speed limit.
More:Can you guess the 10 busiest intersections in Springfield?
And while no one was seriously hurt in the Feb. 3 crash, News-Leader records indicate there have been at least two fatal crashes on College Street near Broadway Avenue since 2011 — one that claimed the life of a motorcyclist and another where a pickup truck driver went off the roadway and hit a tree.
In their initial news releases from those fatal crashes, Springfield police listed speed as a factor in one of them.
Bernhardt said when she is out walking her dog she sometimes yells at drivers for speeding down the historic Springfield roadway.
"I definitely think there is an issue with cars driving too fast," Bernhardt said. "People go down this road like 60 miles per hour, and the speed limit is 30."
Several businesses on that stretch of College Street told the News-Leader they don't notice major speeding issues during the day. Neighbors said the problem is mostly at night.
Sgt. Haines said Springfield police officers regularly patrol the area "in an effort to deter hazardous moving violations."
Tom Jones, who owns the rental home that was hit by a car last week, said it has been "a lot of hassle" dealing with the aftermath of the crash and damage to his home but he was happy to hear that no one was seriously hurt.
Police say criminal charges are pending for the driver of the car in the crash, who fled the scene.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Police: Fiery crash in Springfield could lead to charges for driver
