BROWNSTOWN

As he recently drove through a blind curve on North Ewing Street near the outskirts of Brownstown, Sid Connell said he came too close to a semitrailer.

Fortunately, both drivers stopped, preventing a serious accident.

That cause for concern resulted in Connell attending a Brownstown Town Council meeting to see what could be done to make the area safer.

Whether it’s not allowing semitrailers on that part of the street, reducing the speed limit or placing “Slow down” signs or a concave mirror, Connell said something needs to be done.

“What I’m afraid of is somebody’s going to get seriously hurt there,” he told the council. “I know it hasn’t happened yet, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re playing Russian roulette.”

The 400 block of North Ewing Street consists of two blind curves on a narrow road, which doesn’t give drivers much room to move if a large vehicle is heading toward them.

The road has been washed out and repaired a few times. In some spots, the road is still crumbled. In one area, a dropoff is filled with rock.

Connell said there also is an area with a concrete slab that sticks out where there’s a chuckhole, creating another safety hazard.

“If you meet a semitrailer coming around that corner, which he’s coming to a blind curve, too, you have to get off the road,” he said. “The only way you can get off is in that chuckhole and where that concrete is sticking out there with a point on it, which is either going to blow your tire, tear a rim up or something.”

Not much can be done to widen the road because a cemetery is at the top of the hill, and the railroad tracks are near the other curve.

“The road on both sides of those two curves is not in very good shape,” Connell said. “There are ditches where rainwater has washed them out, so when you meet a car or especially a semitrailer — the semitrailer is what I’m concerned with — there is no place for you to go. If you get off the road, you’re going to damage your car.”

It’s tricky for cars going through the curves because a semitrailer or a large farm vehicle takes up most of the road.

“My main concern is somebody is going to get hurt in that blind curve,” Connell said. “These semis don’t just come creeping around that curve. They come barreling around it. I’ve had to stop there and try to get off the road because of semitrailers or big farm equipment coming around that corner numerous times.”

When he recently met a semitrailer in one of the curves, he said he had to stop because the truck took up the whole road.

“If I hadn’t stopped and panicked and hit the gas, that’s exactly where I would have been — under his back wheels. There was nowhere for me to go, absolutely nowhere,” Connell said. “He did stop, and I thought he was still going to hit me. You probably could have put a piece of paper between his trailer and my front fender. … I don’t know how he knew he wasn’t going to hit me. It was that close.”

In talking to Police Chief Tom Hanner, Connell learned he also has had to stop to avoid getting hit while driving in the area.

Connell said a concave mirror is one option on the blind curves, but it could be difficult for drivers to look at that while trying to keep their eyes on the road.

Council President Sally Lawson said Councilman Gregg Goshorn serves as a liaison to the street department and could talk to Street Superintendent Dale Shelton to determine the best solution.

“I would appreciate any help you could give us,” Connell said.