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Neighbors witness ‘an accident every week' along dangerous Charlotte road

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — People are getting hurt and even killed in car crashes along a southeast Charlotte road months after the North Carolina Department of Transportation said the city knew it needed to install a traffic light.

Officers responded to the latest wreck Tuesday morning on Monroe Road when a white car plowed into a Charlotte Area Transit Systems bus.

The driver of the crumpled car swerved to avoid a car that darted in front of her.

"I witness an accident probably every week," said nearby business owner Sam Alerbini.

Even after Tuesday's crash cleared, damage from other wrecks still scarred other buildings.

A few days ago, another car ran off the road and sheared off the corner of a business.

"People go entirely too fast. There's no indication for stop lights, it's just not a safe road at all. I have challenges every single day crossing Monroe," CATS bus passenger Pamela Briggs said.

One of the most serious crashes happened in May, when a woman died at the intersection of Monroe Road and Covedale Drive, which was right down the road from Tuesday’s crash.

[PAST COVERAGE: 2 drivers charged in crash that killed 1, hurt 4 in southeast Charlotte]

NCDOT said the city is planning to put a traffic light at the Covedale intersection because several dangerous crashes have happened there.

Neighbors think many of the recent wrecks could have been avoided if the traffic light was installed earlier.

So why wasn't it?

As it turns out, NCDOT still has to purchase the right of way and that can take up to nine months.

Worried neighbors don't think the road will be safer until the speed limit is lowered and multiple stop lights are put up.

"We can't wait for the process to take longer. We can't wait for more accidents to happen. We need to take action now," said Alerbini.

NCDOT said a second stop light could later be installed at Orchard Lake Drive. However, that would likely require the developer, who wants to build on the property, to help finance its installation.

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