NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Nashville homeowner and a Metro Council member are speaking out after a car crashed into the roof of her house, an incident she told News 2 could have been prevented.

Smith Springs Road has long been known for dangerous driving and its twists and turns.

They are asking for the Nashville Department of Transportation to step in.

"On the other side of the driveway, there is an embankment, and they hit it," homeowner Jennifer Pittman explained. "I don't know if it flipped it or what, but it landed straight up and down on my roof."

A couple of weeks ago, Pittman described how she was in the living room with her dogs when the car crashed into the roof of her bedroom.

"I was shocked for sure," Pittman said.

But this isn't the first time a car has landed in someone's home off of Smith Springs Road.

"Years ago, two houses down, a car went off the road and hit her house, and I think she has had two cars totaled just from cars coming around that curve," Pittman explained.

"There have been several times that we have been in the turning lane to turn and had to swerve back out into traffic because someone was coming up the middle lane head-on," Pittman added.

After the crash, Pittman emailed her councilman and followed up with a request to HubNashville, asking NDOT to see if they would conduct a safety assessment and add guardrails.

"At least guardrails on the curves so people don't run off the road," Pittman said.

NDOT responded, saying the concerns were passed on to the traffic engineering group for evaluation since "the site was evaluated, and a guardrail was not recommended."

"Their response was that guardrails are for motorists, not to protect the homeowner's property," Pittman said. "I felt dismissed about the whole thing." 

District 29 Metro Council member Tasha Ellis told News 2 she wants the city to examine Smith Springs Road again before another crash like this one occurs.

"The crux of the issue, as NDOT was saying, is that they don't put up guardrails to protect personal property, but you do put up guardrails to keep our public safe," Ellis said.

Thursday morning, Ellis wrote a letter to NDOT and the Mayor's Office describing how the crash warranted "immediate investigation and mitigation, not dismissal."

"When you are talking about public safety, a guardrail seems like the lowest of things that can be done to improve the safety of residents," Ellis said.

News 2 reached out to NDOT for a statement. They said they are actively checking on this inquiry and will provide more information as soon as they have it.

In the meantime, Pittman said people need to slow down.

"Just slow down, be careful, and be nice to people," Pittman concluded.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/car-crashes-into-roof-of-nashville-home-homeowner-metro-council-member-demand-safety-changes-on-smith-springs-road/