'Someone would have been killed': Andover Drive residents call for speed bumps after car strikes house

Residents in a west London, Ont. neighbourhood are calling on the city to do more to put the brakes on speeding, specifically along Andover Drive.

Renewed calls for speed bumps follow a crash last week when a car struck a house. A home security camera caught what appears to be an out of control car striking the home on Andover Drive between Village Green Avenue and Viscount Road.

It happened at 12:25 am Thursday.

Homeowner Denise Jones said she was awoken by a bang, but didn’t realize what had happened until she got up hours later.

“Woke up in the morning and looked out and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, there is dirt all over our driveway and trees.’ So then I run downstairs and I see all this damage, and it was just like, ‘This is crazy,’” she recounted.

Photos taken that morning show tracks across the next-door neighbour’s lawn with debris from both properties scattered about.

A residence was damaged on Andover Drive in London Ont. on Feb. 15, 2024 by a vehicle. (Photo supplied by Laura Maudsley)

Last year, Jones successfully lobbied city hall to have the speed on Andover reduced to 40 km/h from 50 km/h. She has also been trying to have speed bumps installed.

“I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, because we have been… well here’s my correspondence with the city of London, emails regarding the traffic and speed of traffic,” said Jones as she held up a stack of printed emails.

Jones said Andover Drive is also popular for street racing.

She said she has witnessed cars racing in the middle of the day, taking up both lanes of traffic and heading in the same direction on the two-way traffic street.

She’s not the only one concerned.

A residence was damaged on Andover Drive in London Ont. on Feb. 15, 2024 by a vehicle. (Photo supplied by Laura Maudsley)

Andover Drive resident Stephanie Dervishi said she submitted a petition to the city two years ago to have speed bumps installed. She said at the time, the city found it wasn’t warranted.

“People are driving faster, they’re more aggressive. And I see now, you know cars passing other cars on the road, and this is a residential street,” explained Dervishi.

Neighbour Edina Banicevic said she and her daughter Zana walk along Andover Drive every day, and she worries they could get struck by a speeding car.

“I live on Viscount [Road] but I’m everyday walking on Andover [Drive], and speed is so bad for both streets,” she said.

CTV News reached out to city traffic staff, along with Ward 10 Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen, but they could not be reached for comment.

In the meantime, Denise Jones hopes something gets done soon because next time, she said it might not be a house.

“I guess it’s a good thing it happened at 12:25 [a.m.] if it was going to happen, otherwise for sure someone would have been killed,” said Jones.