Life is rarely dull at the corner of crash and crunch.
“The corner is fast and dangerous,” said resident Joy Hollingsworth.
23rd Avenue East and East John Street is one of Seattle’s most-watched intersections, thanks to Hollingsworth.
“I just care about the community,” she said.
Hollingsworth is a third-generation resident of this family home.
“My grandmother moved here in 1946,” she said.
She’s seen the streets of her beloved neighborhood grow more and more dangerous, year after road-rage-filled year.
“People are trying to avoid the freeway, and so 23rd is just their outlet,” Hollingsworth said.
A few years ago, Hollingsworth began filming the street using security cameras mounted outside her home.
“You know what,” she recalls thinking. “I’m gonna point a camera and see if we can catch some red light runners.”
Since then, she’s documented nearly every car crash, night and day.
“Ten to 15 accidents year-round,” she estimated.
Though there have been no known fatalities since she started filming collisions in 2018, there have been some very scary close calls.
“Probably the worst one that I’ve seen is a little kid from one of the middle schools in the area get hit on a scooter,” Hollingsworth said. “Thankfully he’s okay, but that was really scary.”
While visiting during an afternoon rush hour, we witnessed one car locking up its brakes in the intersection, and another traveling in the wrong direction.
Most wrecks are the result of drivers running red lights.
“There’s a lot of T-bones.”
Speed is also a factor in most of the crashes. And no two collisions are the same.
“One was this truck that was carrying a ton of wood, and it got clipped, T-boned,” she said.
Just a few seconds earlier, a pedestrian had been walking in the very spot where the huge load of wood landed.
Hollingsworth’s videos have helped police solve a few cases.
“Any time of the day they know I have a camera pointing here,” she said.
The footage has gotten the public’s attention with thousands of online views.
“Hopefully, maybe the cameras bring an awareness to folks that this is a dangerous corner.”
Her videos have also helped convince local officials to take steps that should make the intersection safer.
“They were able to see how bad it was,” Hollingsworth said. “They’re making the lights for the signal be a lot bigger.”
They’re also placing easier-to-see crosswalk signals, and improving the sidewalks to make them safer and more visible at crossings. With any luck, those changes will help make life at the corner of 23rd and John blissfully boring.
“I just want to make sure that the corner’s safe.”
—————————————————————————————————–
Evening on KING 5 celebrates the Northwest. Watch it LIVE weekdays at 7:30 on KING 5 or streaming on https://www.king5.com. Find more stories like this on our website: king5.com/evening
🢒 Follow us! 🢐
FACEBOOK 🢒 https://www.facebook.com/KING5Evening/
TWITTER 🢒 https://twitter.com/king5evening
INSTAGRAM 🢒 https://www.instagram.com/king5evening/
source
Running a red light should probably be a felony. Minimum 1 year in prison, 10 year suspension of driving privileges, basically the equivalent of a third DUI. Maybe have a distinction between straight running the light and stopping before running the light. Someone who stops and looks both ways at 4 in the morning when there's no traffic and then goes through a red is still technically in the wrong, but not criminally reckless to the extent of just running a light without stopping and checking if it's clear. The people like in this video should definitely lose a good amount of freedom. You get people to follow the law by making it impossible for them to not get caught and making the punishment severe enough to outweigh any possible benefit.
they should add some rumble strips to slow traffic down. or just a plain old speed bump 70 feet before the intersection in all directions
There should have been an investigation into that intersections lights programming/timing. No intersection has THAT many red light crashes. My bet is whatever construction company installed that programmed the yellow light too long and it was causing drivers to speed up trying to beat the light.
You will notice that certain intersections in your cities have yellow lights that are practically non existent sometimes, they just go straight to red as you see the yellow portion of the signal light for 1/10 of a second. This is because DOT have had wrecks at intersections like this one and they know that leaving the yellow light up too long encourages drivers to speed up to beat the light.
More proof that Seattle is truly the worst at driving
Could be fixed with a fraction of the budget of any number of Seattle’s failed social programs. Visit the sewer that is Seattle at your own risk.
I would be charging the police a “processing fee” every time they wanted the early release content.
This is just reinforcing my theory that humans are currently splitting off in a new branch of evolution. I see so many people that are so stupid that I think they're actually branching off into a different species, there's no way they're the same species that was able to figure out how to invent tools from a bunch of sticks and colonize the entire planet. Our technology has advanced to the point that this new subspecies can survive without being wiped out by mechanisms that would normally prevent flawed mutations from reproducing.
If only there was some authority that could somehow deter people from running red lights or speeding over preteens…
They need those car stopping things for pedestrians. Those yellow 3 ft tall poles of steel or concrete? You sometimes see them in entrances to stores. That way at the least it will stop there and maybe protect pedestrians.
I'd say the problem is the drivers how is it that one can get a Washington drivers liscense and still not know what a red light is? I grew up in California where we have many such intersections posted at 50mph and we somehow have way less crashes. I've seen intersections in Seattle where you never get a green light you just get a flashing yellow arrow and the traffic is so bad that making the turn is pretty much impossible but people try anyway and crash. None of these drivers were turning left although. The answer is not a lower speed limit/more restrictions train you're drivers better.
there is rarely such a thing as a dangerous corner in terms of poor layout and or visibility of the lights .
it's almost always driver incompetance .
if you drive defensively and slower your chances of avoiding a collision are reduced significantly .
"He just turned into me!"
this in like that 11 foot 8 inch bridge in North Carolina she should start a channel would be a hit.
Good job!! Most of the time a problem needs a BIG spotlight on it to get the city to do something about it. Hopefully that new signal system will have long reds so that people won’t use that road as a shortcut.
It’s a freaking small road In a residential area.
what the fuck are the drivers doing
The city has been double overed by bicyclists. The congestion their road plans are causing is leading to aggressive driving. Now, imagine how dangerous it is to restrict Aurora to two lanes will be for surrounding residentials if it happens??
I can not wait for the data to show there is uptick in accidents and pedestrians struck by cars so cyclists may begin to pull their heads out of their asses in regards to their "master plan."
Uncivilized Society of America. Only in USA.
1 year ago. Any update on the wreck numbers? I'm betting it's remained largely unchanged.
Giving up my car after moving to Seattle was a blessing in disguise
I don't see a "corner." I see a 90 degree 4-way intersection in an urban block with no obstruction.
Blame the water supply, not the road.
I love how during the actual interview, someone kindly demonstrates exactly why people are super dangerous in that area specifically by driving in oncoming traffic.
My uestion is: "Where are the cops?" Some tickets for running red lights and speeding would put the word out on the street.
"The corner is fast and dangerous"
No its not… Its a normal intersection. Thousands of people use it just fine everyday. Its the dozen people a year that run the reds that make it dangerous.
Why is it always Seattle, always thought its road design until clicking on the videos, turns out its all bad drivers.
Well done ma’am.
Hopefully the upgrades help, but let's be honest here… No matter how much is invested in safety systems and upgrades to structures (sidewalks), so long as bad drivers keep on violating traffic rules by speeding, running red lights, driving in the wrong way, etc, those crashes will still keep happening.
The solution is to ban cars.
She's fortunate that the cars haven't taken the odd spin onto her property after impact.
They need to install a couple roundabouts.problem solved
Roundabout!
GDPR in Europe forbids you to record street or any public surface. Only your property.
Yup I work that area yeah um. Not the only part of town that raises my Army vets freaking bum beyond pucker factor. Been hit at this location, and others, more times than I wish…especially with the numbers that have no insurance…I sure as he'll can't afford to fund their??jezzuz. I've tried many times to prevent it from being conceived as being racist…best I can come up withfrack. Even that sounds racist. Frack um frack even that sounds racist look. The pest I can come up with without getting blasted….no drivers license, no insurance, DON'T FREAKING DRIVE. Bet I get blasted for that……
just build a roundabout
As it is said: You can't fix Stupid. 😁✌🖖
Seattle used to be a beautiful city
Looks like Seattle don't care about their roads or their citizens
some people see a yellow light and slow down. others see that and say "It's on"
T – Boned Alley
Only in the HOOD.
She's knowingly contributing to slowing down more traffic by contributing to them putting up more red light cameras and ridiculous no turn on red signs..another idiot snitch
Yeah black people are wack drivers and they can't see at night
Start streaming!!