HICKORY, N.C. — One woman was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition following a single-vehicle crash Thursday morning in Hickory.
The wreck happened on 16th Street northeast just after 6 a.m.
Witnesses say a car overturned and crashed through a wall before ending up in someone’s yard. Police said the female driver was awake after the wreck.
Police say speed was a factor in the wreck which shut down the road for more than an hour.
The street is no stranger to accidents. In 2023, Channel 9 spoke to residents who said they fear for the safety of their families and homes.
“It scares me to death,” resident Amy Massagee. “It scares me for what’s going to happen, because we keep trying to get help out here to get a guardrail to get protection. It’s very scary”
Neighbors say they want the state to put up a guardrail there.
Channel 9 reached out to the NCDOT. A spokesperson from the department said NCDOT reviewed the site after a crash in 2023 and added chevron signs, a curve warning sign before the curve, and a 35 mph speed limit sign further from the curve.
They say they will conduct another review of the road once the report for this latest crash is released to determine if any other changes should be made.
In the meantime, those neighbors have actually built their own walls to try to keep cars from going into their homes.
“You can see the damage,” resident William Wallace said. “They’ve got strips out here to try to measure the speed. Someone out here is going to get killed.”
Damage to the two walls could be seen Thursday morning after the car struck one wall and then landed on top of another.
The accident was captured on surveillance and Ring cameras nearby as the vehicle went airborne and overturned before landing in a yard.
This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.
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