SELMA – Four people were injured Wednesday afternoon at a dangerous Johnston County intersection. The three-vehicle crash was reported around 3:30pm on Highway 42 East at Thanksgiving Fire Department Road.
All four accident victims were sent to the hospital, two with serious injuries.
That section of Highway 42 East, including the intersection, has been the scene of numerous accidents and fatalities in recent years.
On November 14, 2022, one person sustained minor injuries in a wreck at the same intersection.
In June 2021, three people were seriously hurt in a collision between a minivan and passenger car, trapping all the victims in the wreckage.
In April 2021, a mother and her 2 month-old baby died in a violent crash with a dump truck.
A head on collision near the intersection in February 2020 killed one person.
The cause of the most recent crash on Wednesday remains under investigation by the State Highway Patrol.
You can bet someone was at fault. It was not due to a faulty intersection. We have too many poor and careless drivers.
I agree too many careless drivers. Also too many older drivers. My neighbor just renewed his drivers license on line with a relatives help. It’s good for another 8 years. He’s 82 now. He’ll be 90 before he has to renew again. There should be a cutoff age where drivers should have to prove they are capable of driving every year. Let’s say 75 for arguments sake. I’m not saying older folks shouldn’t drive, but they should have to pass a written and road test every year in their golden years.
Just like to know how old you are?
IIRC this one is to get a 4-way stop soon. But every intersection on 42 between there and Clayton has had as many accidents if not more. Carl is right, it’s the drivers. It’s not like it’s a blind intersection. IMO it’s the combination of older natives not used to the heavy traffic and fast driving transplants who’ve moved into all the new development along there. So let’s dumb everything down to the least common denominator. 4-way stops at every intersection. Speed limit 30 everywhere but the freeways. The lifetime you waste behind the wheel is not important. Move closer to work. We have to save the irresponsible.
Please, for goodness sake, no more 4 way stops. People just need to pay attention and have freaking patience. I have been through that intersection hundreds of times, there’s zero problems with getting onto 42 off of Thanksgiving if you have a little patience.
Agreed. With that mentality, we can put 4-way stops at every intersection and we all lose out because of slower travel. Convict the drivers that are at fault and quit punishing the good drivers. As far as elderly drivers mentioned in an earlier comment, I would dare say they are safer in most cases than younger drivers. They do not need more restrictions on their licenses. Instead, restrict the drivers that get tickets and are the lawbreakers with more testing requirements.
I travel this stretch of highway almost daily. I see drivers running the stop signs at Thanksgiving Fire Dept. Road and Lynch Road all the time. Some drivers apparently believe they only need to slow down there and keep rolling to beat the faster cars on 42.