JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a child and five adults were injured, two critically, in a crash Sunday on Normandy Boulevard, local residents told News4JAX it’s not the first time they’ve seen mangled cars on that stretch of road.
The crash Sunday was first reported around 3 p.m. west of Cecil Airport on Jacksonville’s Westside.
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A Florida Highway Patrol report said an SUV headed west sideswiped a raised concrete barrier on the shoulder, flipped onto a car in the oncoming lane of Normandy Boulevard and was then hit by another SUV that was headed east.
Two of the drivers suffered critical injuries, Another driver and two adult passengers in the vehicles were seriously injured, and a 2-year-old boy suffered minor injuries, FHP said.
Joseph Cassels, who lives off Normandy Boulevard, said he’s been in the area his whole life and said he sees bad crashes like Sunday’s “all the time,” particularly with construction in the area.
“They’re putting in massive concrete barriers, then they’re minimizing the width of the lanes. They’re adding little, hardly nothing pieces of asphalt, and there’s no stability. One little bump and you’re slung all over the place,” Cassels said. “I’m scared for anybody driving down. It’s bad.”
Others News4JAX spoke to in the area on Sunday echoed Cassels’ concerns about the dangerous stretch of road.
Cassels argued that the city should halt building permits in the area until the infrastructure is in place to “handle the amount of people they’re trying to put out here.”
Cassels expressed concerns about the lack of nearby services and schools as well.
“Everywhere you’ve got to go is miles and miles away from here, and everybody’s running 70 mph,” Cassels said.
He added that he’d like to see more speeding patrols in the area, particularly where children travel daily to and from school.