Homeowner calls for safer barriers at intersection after impaired driver plows through multiple yards

A Regina woman is voicing her frustration with the dead-end of a street that backs onto her property after a car ended up in her neighbour’s backyard.

On Wednesday morning at around 7:40 a.m., Colleen Jeeves and her son heard a loud crash in their backyard. When they walked outside they found a black Ford car stopped by a tree in the yard two houses over.

“The fence was missing,” recalled Jeeves. “To get through a snowbank, a wood fence that he sheared right off, and through a solid chain-link fence, I would say he was going more than 80 kilometres per hour.”

Jeeves said there is no sign the driver attempted to slow down at the stop sign across Pasqua Street at 5th Avenue. Regina police arrested a 58-year-old man on the scene for impaired driving.

But for Jeeves, this is not the first time a car has ended up on her property. She has lived at the corner of Pasqua Street and Sussex Crescent for 40 years, taking over ownership from her parents 13 years ago.

“When I was a kid, I couldn’t even tell you how many times,” she said.

Jeeves could recall at least nine other occurrences where a vehicle had hit their fence or broken through it to hit her home.

“Five years ago, I was sitting in the corner in a chair watching a show and that’s where it hit.

“If it had been a truck and not a car, I may not be here now.”

She said she has repaired her backyard fence five times in 13 years, but the impact is larger than just a broken fence.

Colleen Jeeves has had to repair her fence multiple times after vehicles have knocked it down. (Courtesy: Colleen Jeeves)

“A main structural beam was hit a few years ago,” she described. “My home is no longer level. Three of the four basement walls have been rebuilt.”

“It is clearly not safe for dwelling right now.”

INSURANCE

Every time a car hits her home, Jeeves must submit a claim to SGI and because of the increase in claims, her insurance premiums and deductible has doubled, costing her thousands of dollars on top of repair costs.

“Insurance is usage based,” SGI Canada manager of media relations Tyler McMurchy said. “The more you use it, the more it costs.

Jeeves said in more than one case, including Wednesday's, the drivers did not have their own insurance or would flee the property before information could be gathered.

“Although we understand the frustration of being an innocent victim and having to pay the deductible, in situations like [this], SGI will make every effort to recover the costs from a negligent party,” McMurchy said. “If that collection happens, [we] refund part or all of the homeowner’s deductible.”

CALL FOR SAFETY

A few blocks away on the corner of 4th Avenue and Campbell Street, Bruce Osiowy faced a similar intersection to Jeeves. His family moved into his home in 1957 and for decades, cars would slide through the ‘T-intersection’ in front of their house and into the yard.

He remembered an accident one night in 1998 after he began to own the home himself.

“We had just left the living room and a car came crashing through the front yard and half of the front end of the car ended up in the basement,” he recalled. “So, I started talking a lot to the city at that point.”

Osiowy experienced the same incurred costs through insurance as Jeeves. His premiums and deductibles rose higher and higher.

“People go too fast,” he said. “As a homeowner, there’s not much you can do.”

Osiowy said he spent years speaking to the city about a solution, until one day about three years ago a city worker suggested concrete posts, called “jersey barriers”.

“They fixed it in a week,” Osiowy said. “The odd post has been hit but never bent it. That solved the problem.”

Although there is a dead-end sign on the curb, Jeeves has requested the city build the same barriers at her property, with no response.

“If someone goes through and hits it again, there’s nothing really stopping them at this point,” she said. “It’s quite frustrating.”

In a statement to CTV News, the City of Regina said barrier options vary based on location and concern.

“The type and design placement of these barriers vary based on roadway design, type of vehicles using the road, speed limits, adjacent land use and collision history,” the city said. “[We] assess each situation independently to analyze and determine the best solution.”

The city added residents are encouraged to contact them with any concerns.

“I’ve got grandkids that walk around, a dog that can’t use the yard now. Nothing is secured,” said Jeeves. “There is a school bus stop here for kids who could’ve been standing here waiting for the bus.”

But for now, she hopes drivers use caution, especially in the icy conditions.