INDIANAPOLIS — Staff at a northside high school want to see safety changes at a nearby interchange after a student was luckily able to walk away after being hit by a car the careened onto the sidewalk.
As students were leaving Believe Circle City High School Tuesday afternoon, a green Mustang trying to turn on Capitol Ave from 26th St. collided with a truck going down south on Capitol Ave. James Washington, a teacher at the school, saw the whole thing and was nearly hit himself.
”The Mustang and the truck came at me and the student. I ran this way and the student ran this way,” Washington said, pointing in opposite directions.
The student was checked out by doctors and back in class Wednesday, but the entire incident is Executive Director Kimberly Neal-Brannum’s worst fear.
”The accidents are rampant and we’re just waiting for something to be tragic,” Neal-Brannum said.
The school has been open since 2020 and Neal-Brannum said this intersection has been a concern the entire time.
”Danger, there is no other word to use,” she said. “It is a highly dangerous area. We’ve been fighting for some support from the beginning.”
Washington said he sees close calls with students and car crashes about every two weeks. Cars going down Capitol Ave speed and cars crossing at 26th St. have to shoot out into traffic to get across.
”There’s supposed to be a speed limit, but most of the time they are going probably 50 or 60 miles an hour,” Washington said.
In fact, when the crash happened Tuesday there was still debris from another. Last week, a car on Capitol Ave ran off the road, knocking down the stop sign on the west side of the street.
This isn’t the first time we’ve told you about concerns from these school leaders. In January 2023, we talked to Neal-Brannum about these same concerns. Following our reporting, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works fixed flashing school zone lights north of the school on Capitol Ave that had not been working.
Neal-Brannum said she hadn’t noticed a difference. They’re hoping for a four-way stop at the intersection.
”What does it take for the city to do something and make a change for this intersection?” she asked.
In response to our questions, an Indy DPW spokesperson said their thoughts are with the student and their family and they have been in contact with school representatives about the safety at the intersection. Engineers went to the intersection Wednesday morning and found all signage, markings and electronics were installed and working properly.
When asked if a four-way stop at 26th and Capitol would be possible, the DPW spokesperson said the engineering team advises against it because of current traffic volumes heading toward the traffic signal at Capitol Ave and Fall Creek Parkway.
However, Capitol Ave is set for a major change in a few years. It is one of eight one way streets in Indianapolis that will be changed to two-way streets.
Capitol Ave is in the design process right now and Indy DPW is looking for community feedback about what neighbors and drivers would like to see on these roads. However, DPW said there is no firm timeline for when the change will start or finish.
The staff at Believe Circle City worry every day that waiting for safety changes is another chance for the worst to happen.
”I believe somebody will get hit if they don’t put a stop sign or stoplight here,” said Washington.
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