CINCINNATI — Cincinnati police said a man was driving around 95 miles per hour when he lost control of his car and crashed into a man's apartment in South Fairmount Tuesday night, prompting renewed calls for increased speed controls from those living in the area.
Jim Shapiro, owner of Weybridge Realty, said it was miraculous that no one was hurt in the crash near the intersection of Harrison and Knorr avenues.
"We're lucky the man wasn't sitting in his room there," Shapiro said. "He has a dog that's normally down there."
Shapiro said speeding on Harrison Avenue has been a chronic problem.
"We were just standing here and a car went by going 60, 65," he said. "It's scary."
In nearby Westwood, some like Town Hall Business District Association President Larry Eiser said they've been working with city officials to slow speeds entering town. Eiser said the road has outlived its original design.
"It was designed for the purpose of getting folks quickly from downtown to the suburbs," he said, "but there's a lot of residential over there, there's active now revitalized business districts along Harrison Avenue."
Eiser said current city plans would include bump-outs to protect parking, reducing lanes from four to two and adding speed humps between Westwood Town Hall and Queen City Avenue.
"This project is funded," Eiser said. "Now it's just a matter of community input and design."
Eiser said final project completion could still be two or more years away as officials work to appease business owners, homeowners and others opposed to speed humps like Jim Shapiro.
"I think they're going to break a lot of people's cars," Shapiro said. "I think they will disproportionately impact low-income people whose cars aren't maybe as (new), they're going to make a lot of money for mechanics."
Shapiro said the tenant in his now-demolished apartment was lucky to not be home during the crash, and he was able to move the renter into a vacant apartment that he'd been ready to rent to another person.
Police said the driver who caused the crash was taken into custody after attempting to leave the scene.
It's not clear whether the driver has been charged with a crime.
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