At Troy home, 19 cars have crashed into property

Image 1 of 3

A Troy family is afraid their luck is about to run out. They've seen cars lose control and slam into their home several times over the years and are asking the city put up something to protect them.

The most recent accident came on Sunday morning. It was 8 am and LouAnne Skaarud says a car slammed into her bedroom where she normally would have been sleeping. Instead, she happened to fall asleep in a chair another room.

She said it was a terrifying experience.

"I started screaming. I couldn't stop screaming. My chest felt like a wrecking ball hit me," Skaarud said. "I jumped out of my chair, I ran to the telephone, I called 911, screaming 'help me', 'help me','help me'."

She showed us the damage and says this isn't the first time cars have rammed into her property. She says 19 cars have crashed into the property at the corner of Campbell and 14 Mile in the past 50 years, damaging trees and gates. Two of those times, cars have hit the house.

"It's been like a war zone and it's getting worse and worse and worse. Cars traveling up Campbell Road and I don't know if sometimes they're drunk, sometimes they fall asleep, (they're having a) seizure," her son Nicholas Sikes said.

The family says they have contacted city and county leaders for help

"She dealt with the county and told me that they won't do anything," Sikes said.

"Somebody help me. A guardrail would be nice," Skaarud said.

Fox 2 reached out to the Oakland County Road Commission and were told that this situation does not meet the national guidelines for guardrail placement.

The City of Troy has had conversations with the homeowner and her attorney, discussing everything that is ongoing in relation to this situation.  There is a plan in the works to add more prominent signage in the area

The family says they just want to see something sooner than later.

"I've spent my life here. I bought it when I was 22 years old and this house and my son is all I have," Skaarud said.

The Oakland County Road Comission released this statement about the plan of action to help prevent cars from crashing into her home:

The Road Commission, the City of Troy and the City of Madison Heights have had ongoing discussions about this situation and have come up with a three-pronged approach:

1.     RCOC will install a larger 96" x 48" Bi-Directional Arrow sign on the north side of 14 Mile to replace the existing smaller bi-directional arrow sign.  Yellow reflective post inserts will also be used on the support posts.
2.     RCOC will add a "Left Arrow & Only" Case sign to the existing traffic signal span for the northbound direction of traffic.
3.     Madison Heights will replace the existing advance road name sign "14 Mile Rd" on northbound Campbell with a modified intersection warning sign which would depict a T-intersection with a smaller stub shown slightly offset to the right for the Sheffield approach, with a D3-2a (black on yellow) "14 Mile Rd" sign installed underneath it.

This situation does not meet "warrants" -- the national guidelines -- for guardrail placement. Guardrail is not intended to be used perpendicular to traffic.  Guardrail is intended to be parallel to the direction of traffic to work with glancing blows.  Head-on impact can result in a vehicle going right over the top of the guardrail, which can even cause the vehicle to be "launched" -- in this case that would be in the direction of the house.