Dearborn residents raise concerns about reckless driving in neighborhoods
Several residents say reckless driving is a problem in Dearborn, Michigan, and they want the city to make a change.
CBS News Detroit learned about the concern after a resident shared at the most recent city council meeting that she and her family were involved in three separate accidents right in front of their home.
"I am deeply concerned about the safety of our streets and the lack of accountability for the reckless driving," said Dearborn resident Ashely Sokolosky.
Sokolosky says she and her family have been victims of three separate accidents right in front of her home, all happening within one year.
"We woke up to find our car completely totaled on our lawn," said Sokolosky.
And this wasn't the only time; a driver crashed into their camper back in September, and only a couple of weeks later, another incident.
"Our car was hit while it was parked at our home," said Sokolosky.
After learning Sokolosky lives on Cleveland Street, CBS News Detroit visited the neighborhood to see the conditions and tried to speak with her following the city council meeting.
CBS News Detroit spoke with her mother, who said Sokolosky and her husband were at the hospital. Her husband was getting surgery after an injury he endured from yet another reckless driver.
"It's scary, it's dangerous, there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood and I'm often angry about it," said neighbor Adam Jezewski.
CBS News Detroit spoke with several homeowners; many of them have families with kids on the road. They say their concern is how fast cars are going and whether they will be able to stop in time if their kids are playing near the road.
"Now remember there is construction out there. A lot of people couldn't go down. It was just one lane," said longtime resident Nora Matt.
Matt says she doesn't have a problem with how fast drivers are going, saying that they need to get to work.
The street over, Outer Drive, is under construction.
However, city officials CBS News Detroit spoke with feel otherwise.
"Our entire team, we have taken traffic incidents extremely serious and have been working around the clock," said Dearborn Council President Michael Sareini.
Sareini says the City of Dearborn partnered with the secretary of state to shut down two driving schools in the city not adhering to policy.
He says the city has also installed blinking stop lights and speed humps to urge drivers to slow down.
"We have a transparency task force that have at least doubled, if not tripled, for traffic citations," said Sareini.
He assured the resident at the meeting and wants the community to know the council is working to crack down on reckless driving to keep their residents safe.
