6/27/09
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10 comments
Latest accident at McEntire, Gordon intersection injures 3
McEntire Lane and Gordon Terry Parkway Southwest was the scene of another accident Friday morning that injured three people. Marshall Goode, 70, of Hillsboro said he and his grandson were en route to visit his wife at The University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital when his sport utility vehicle collided with a car. Authorities said ambulances transported his grandson, Dakota Goode, 13, a student at East Lawrence High School, and the car’s driver, Sylvia Morris, 64, of Decatur, to Decatur General Hospital. A son later drove Marshall Goode, 70, to the hospital for observation. The hospital treated and released the Goodes. Morris was in good condition. Troopers said all three wore safety belts. They said the accident occurred at 10:40 a.m. Goode said he was traveling east on Gordon Terry when he and the driver of the car, heading south on McEntire, collided. “I tried my best to get around her,” he said. Decatur Officer Mike Hazel said the vehicles impacted in the outside lane, flipping the SUV upside down on the shoulder of the road near the exit ramp at the Beltline. The car remained on Gordon Terry, the front end heavily damaged. “I did not find anyone who witnessed the accident,” said Hazel, who worked the scene before a state trooper arrived. Hazel said witnesses arriving after the wreck told him that Morris walked to the SUV, apparently to check on the occupants. Decatur Fire & Rescue treated her beside the vehicle before placing her into an ambulance. Goode works at Early Services in Decatur and arrived at 5 a.m. to finish his work so he could go to visit his wife. “I’m still going down there,” he said. More than one policeman has called it one of the most dangerous intersections in the city. Chad Smith of Decatur arrived at the scene after the wreck. “I just know there’s a wreck there every week, we’ve had numerous fatalities there and there needs to be a traffic signal,” he said. “It is just extremely dangerous.” Smith said he has worked at Fluid Engineering for 13 years, a business on Old Trinity Road, west of McEntire Lane. “We all use that intersection getting to and from work,” he said. “Something needs to be done.” In September, Morgan County and state officials began discussing a traffic signal. The County Commission and state cannot resolve an estimated $80,000 for a traffic signal plus maintenance. Gordon Terry is a state road and McEntire Lane is in the county’s jurisdiction. In the past, motorists complained that fast-moving traffic from the east and west on Gordon Terry and drivers crossing four lanes to go north and south on McEntire caused hazardous conditions. The last reported fatality in that area was in May 2007 when a three-vehicle crash killed a motorcyclist.
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I bet if a member of the Morgan Co. Commission or State Official lost a family member at that intersection they would be able to resolve the 80,000.00 question. This is taking far longer than it should to resolve.
If this intersection was in Priceville what would be done and how fast.
I think the state and the city of Decatur have a pact that there has to be at least 10 people killed at an intersection before anything can be done about it, unless it's one of their love ones. Then it takes priority. Typical Morgan County / Decatur, Alabama political geniuses at work. When weill we ever get any competent leadership?? Maybe we can get some of the "NARCOG" money that was stolen and pay for this intersection to be revamped!!
Why not just put up a right turn only sign for traffic on McEntire lane? There is access to traffic lights in the other direction.
You can plainly see both ways at that intersection it is plain impatients is all it is .I go through there everyday people just dont pay attention and are in a major rush.....PRICEVILLE what has the county or the state done in Priceville have I missed something of is it just jealousy?????
And a left turn signal from 67 to Country Club Road would be nice. How many accidents/fatalities have to happen there, too?
One of the main problems with that intersection is the crossover area; it's entirely to large, you get 4-5 idots there at the same time, all going different directions, everyone then tries to go at the same time. I've had many near misses when driving on the parkway. I hate traffic lights and Decatur has many; another is needed there.
I like the right turn only signs. Cheap and very effective. Then if there is an accident, someone has got to be doing something wrong.
People read the article closely,Gordon Terry Pkwy is a state road and McEntire is in the county's jurisdiction. The City of Decatur has NOTHING to do with this intersection!!!!!!! Please read carefully before making your ASSumptions.
Amen Kay! While I agree a traffic light is definitely needed, driver ignorance is the key issue here. You can't stack up 3-4 wide in the median and expect not to have an accident. I travel this road everyday to and from work. I have a near miss there almost every week. Again, driver ignorance. Trying to save 60 seconds is going to deprive someone of their life forever. I have also talked with State Troopers this past week about this intersection. It is in the top 20 in the Trooper station's area for accidents. A trooper or county sheriff's deputy (not city police) could fill up a ticket book at this location between 6:30 - 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. And Don, this area could be in the City limits if it were annexed. The city limits totally surround this area like a jig-saw puzzle.