SCOTTSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- Ahren Porta has to watch his boys closely in their own backyard right now because of a gaping hole in his privacy fence.
"Roughly two weeks ago, my wife and boys were out here playing in the yard just like they do on a typical day," he said. "It did start to rain, so they came inside. About an hour later, my wife called me — this was around 4:45 in the afternoon — she was worried some storms had torn up the fence, because she could see that it was knocked over."
But it wasn't a storm. A wreck at a nearby intersection launched a work truck through Porta's fence and into a neighboring home.
"It is very troubling just to think of what could have been — how much worse it could have been — for my wife, my boys and my neighbor," Porta said.
A home along State Road 56 still shows damage from a recent accident. (WDRB Photo)
It wasn't the first wreck that's happened at the intersection, where State Road 56 meets Boatman Road near Scottsburg.
"There was actually a wreck at this intersection the day we moved in," Porta said.
Neighbors say the problem is simple. They believe cars driving north and south on Boatman Road think they're approaching a four-way stop. However, the intersection is a two-way stop, and many drivers don't seem to realize that until it's too late: when they're in the middle of State Road 56.
There have been so many serious wrecks, fatalities included, that even Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin wants change.
"I've been a police officer around Scott County now for 28 years. That intersection at Boatman Road and State Road 56 was a problem 28 years ago. It's a problem today," he said. "That is probably — I would have to say it is at least in the top three — if not No. 1 — it's in the top three most dangerous locations or intersections [in Scott County]."
Neighbors say the intersection of State Road 56 and Boatman Road outside Scottsburg needs INDOT's attention. (WDRB Photo)
Goodin estimates there have been at least half a dozen wrecks at the intersection, including a fatality, since the beginning of 2019.
"For some reason, that intersection just seems to be a thorn in everybody's side, and it's caused us some major problems," Goodin said.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is aware of the problem and said last year it was exploring building a roundabout there.
"To be honest with you, we think anything will be an improvement, because it's a very, very dangerous intersection," Goodin said. "We're excited. I'm just going to tell you right now, we're excited about the possible engineering changes that are going to take place there. We really are."
But change hasn't yet happened and might take a while longer. In fact, a spokesperson said INDOT won't start working on a roundabout until early 2023.
Both Goodin and neighbors feel there will be more serious accidents at the intersection until INDOT does something.
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