Residents blame reversible lanes for slew of crashes

ATLANTA — Following a major accident on Northside Drive Tuesday afternoon, several neighbors are asking the city to remove the reversible lanes. Around 1 p.m., a driver said she was heading north on Northside Drive in the reversible lane when a car pulled in front of her. Witnesses said she clipped that car and went airborne, flying over another car and landing on another SUV causing that SUV to flip as well. "It made me cry. It was very scary to me," said 9-year-old Aimee Odom, who was behind the cars when they flipped. One of the accident victims is Emory student Keri Scott. "All of sudden, something hit and hit me on the passenger side of the car and it turned my car sideways and it started to roll," explained Scott. Neighbor Catherine Carrigan can't count the number of accidents at the corner of Spring Valley Road and Northside Drive. "I think (reversible lanes) are extremely dangerous, and I'm surprised no one has been killed right here. I keep ice packs in my freezer for all the people who have accidents at my corner," Carrigan said. Across the street from Catherine Carrigan is Kim Daugherty, where her neighbors call themselves "The Accident Rescue Team." "I've heard or witnessed at least six accidents in the last six weeks," said Daugherty. Residents said the reversible lanes are confusing, and several of the activation lane lights don't work. "The lights have been burned out for many months," Daugherty said. Compound that with speed, poor signage and a deadly blind spot near Collier Road, and residents said this crash could have been much worse. "It's a shame it takes something like this to maybe save someone else's life," said Scott's mother, Dr. Gail Scott. Channel 2's Craig Lucie contacted the city and explained to them all of the issues that residents have with the lanes. The city said it is responsible for the reversible lane signs and they will be repaired. The city said the lanes themselves fall under the Georgia Department of Transportation.

WSBTV