NOLENSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If something happens once, maybe it's just an accident. If something happens three times, it's probably a problem.
So far, three kids have been hit, or nearly hit, by cars in Nolensville. The most recent incident happened Tuesday afternoon in front of Nolensville Elementary.
"I see a car at the last second and I swerve to the left and my front tire gets destroyed," 13-year-old Drake Morse told my colleague Kelsey Gibbs.
Morse admits he wasn't wearing a helmet and didn't hit the crosswalk button and will do better in the future. A nearly identical situation played out at the same intersection, in September 2023.
About a mile down from Nolensville Elementary on Rocky Fork Road, also in September 2023, there was another incident involving a car and a child. Thankfully that one was just a near miss.
"It’s gotten really kind of frightening," said Patricia Hampton, who lives in a neighborhood along Rocky Fork Road.
She thinks a big reason crossing the street is so dangerous is the chronic speeding along that stretch of road. The signs say 30 mph, but that's not how fast they're driving.
"About 50 mph on average. It’s almost hard to pull out of the neighborhood because the oncoming traffic is so fast," she said.
She says she feels like she has to cross her fingers before she ever crosses the street.
"It’s become quite dangerous," said Hampton. "My husband and I have crossed this road, with the flashers on, and have had people drive right past us like we don’t exist."
Leaders propose solutions
I asked Nolensville leaders, can anything be done to make these crossings safer?
"As a parent, it really makes your heart just sink," said Victor Lay, Nolensville Town Manager. "Number one, it’s scary."
Lay says the town is in the early stages of putting a traffic light at the intersection in front of Nolensville Elementary.
"Not just not the rapid flashing beacon, but actually a fully functional signal and that everyone will have to come to a stop when a pedestrian is crossing there," said Lay.
Nolensville's Board of Commissioners will have to approve the town acquiring the right of way to put in the intersection. Lay says they are considering other dangerous pedestrian intersections on that street as well.
Nolensville Police also wants to up the patrols in the area, but the newly installed chief warns, they can only do so much.
"We may run two or three officers on a shift, and that’s it. So when you start covering 17,000 people plus people coming in transient, we’re doing everything we can to cover what we have," said Dale Armour, who was sworn in as Nolensville Police Chief two weeks ago.
Armour hopes as the community grows, so can his department.
"We’ve got limited resources as far as officers, we’re a small town," he said. "It all has to be with all of us working together."
As for Patricia, until things get safer, she's left her grandchildren with strict instructions.
"They’re not allowed to cross this street without adult supervision at this point. It’s impossible," she said.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
