A Huntington Beach resident who’s been documenting the number of crashes that have happened along a busy intersection near his home is pushing for changes to improve safety.
In just the past three years, 11 crashes have been recorded on State Route 39 near the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Taylor Drive in Huntington Beach, according to police. One of those crashes resulted in a fatality and seven of them caused injuries to those who were involved.
Craig McCoy, who lives in the area, said the numerous crashes have left him and his neighbors apprehensive. As a result, the Orange County man has taken matters into his hands by tracking the crashes with his home surveillance camera in hopes it will push authorities to make appropriate changes.
“I put up a camera for my front yard, and then the company that makes security cameras came out with one that zooms in,” McCoy said. “So, I said, ‘Perfect, there’s a bunch of accidents in front of my house. Let me just point it to the intersection and see what happens.’”
The videos, which were recorded over a two-year period, show drivers attempting to make a left turn onto Taylor Street. Those drivers are often met with cars driving southbound and northbound on SR-39 at high speeds.
“It’s technically 40 to 45 through here, but the regular flow of traffic is 50 or 60, sometimes faster,” McCoy said. “People can’t typically account for that when they are trying to make left turns and that is typically how those accidents happen.”
McCoy said he reached out to the city for help but was told that because SR-39 is a state highway, it’s under state jurisdiction. He added that he was able to reach Caltrans and was told the agency recently completed a review of the area and the road. It said it was waiting for those findings to see if the agency can move forward with any changes.
NBC4 has reached out to Caltrans for comment.
