A guy in San Jose, California, claims that his property near a busy highway has been damaged about two dozen times by vehicles over the years.
Many people would have left by now, but the homeowner has decided to stay for decades. He claims to have spent thousands of dollars fortifying his property and repairing damage as it happens.
“Well, the house shakes. First, you think it’s an earthquake. You hear the rumbling,” Ray Minter said.
Minter’s house, located across the street from a highway exit, is an ideal target for irresponsible drivers. He stated that his property had been hit around 23 times. He claims it all started in the early 1970s when he witnessed vehicles miss the street and smash in his front yard.
“Every time we’ve been hit, we’ve been home. Four times where they’ve gone as far as the kitchen,” he said. Minter said.
Recently, drivers have been failing to execute a right turn. The cost of repairing the damage and finding new tactics to keep cars away from his residence contributes greatly. Luckily, insurance has covered the majority of the damage caused by drivers.
Minter put steel poles on his property boundary, despite city warnings. He also built a brick wall with cement poles and giant rocks to keep future cars away from his residence.
”If I don’t have them here, they’re surely going to kill one of us,” Minter said.
Although his house is closest to the exit, other residences on this street are equally concerned about someone smashing into their property.
Minter has tried talking to city and state agencies, asking his elected representatives for help, and looking into hiring a lawyer throughout the years. He believes that stopping vehicles from performing a wide turn coming off the highway is one approach to reducing crashes and saving lives.
The City of San Jose has requested grant funds for a project to redesign the intersection and create a median for this street corridor. The funds to begin the project would be available next summer if authorized.
Minter isn’t worried about the crashes for the time being because he’s used to them. However, he’s prepared to wake up in his front yard to another one on any given day.
“You don’t really think about it. I mean, you listen for car wrecks,” Minter said.
Source: San Jose Spotlight
