Residents Living Near Sharp Curve Along NW 87 Terrace Fed Up With Constant Crashes

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Dozens of cars have crashed into people's homes and front lawns in a northwest Miami-Dade neighborhood.

The accidents are happening right next to a park on NW 87 Terrace, and people CBS4 talked to say the county isn't doing enough to protect them.

"The last time we reported that (and we just stopped reporting it) was in 2020.  We said forget about it, we're not reporting anymore because nothing is done," says Ronda Maxwell, whose property has been crashed into countless times.

The problem, she says, is a sharp curve in NW 87 Terrace, right outside of her home, and a straight away that leads to it.

"2020, 2015... 19... 17... 08... 09.  It's a total of 12 or more incidents.  It's to the point where we don't report it to our homeowner's insurance because it keeps going up," says Maxwell.

And if it's not her home taking the hit, it's her next-door neighbors.

"I've had at least four incidents since I've been living here," says Walter Howard, who lives next door to Maxwell.

"And each incident I wind up paying for it out of my pocket," says Howard.

In 2020, the house right next to Walters, was hit twice in one week.  Trying to prevent the continuous crashes, the people on NW 87 Terrace created a barrier.

But this past December, "It sounded like a freight train."

Ronda's house was hit again.

"We said OK, we'll let them hit the rocks and run over the rocks to try and slow them down.  The last car ended up inches away from our front porch," she explains.

She says if it wasn't raining, her grandson would have been outside in the exact spot where the car came to rest.

"I can replace a gate I don't know how I could replace my grandson," she says.

Within the last couple years, the county added rumble strips to the ground and reflectors at the curve.  Neighbors say the straight away is the problem and they want to see a stop light put up.

"From here to 95th Street there is no break.  It's a straight shot.  It's like driving on 95," says Howard.

With a park just feet away, neighbors worry sooner or later, it could be a person who's hit instead of a home.

"We don't want the death of a child or the death of anyone to happen for them to say now we need to act," says Maxwell.

CBS4 spoke to the county's department of transportation and they're looking into the history of the road for us.  We're going to continue to follow up with them and we'll bring you any new information.