Another serious accident occurs near the “most accident-prone house in the country” in Burbank

Will Conybeare and Ellina Abovian

8 mins ago

Residents of a Burbank neighborhood are calling for more safety precautions after another vehicle crashed into a concrete wall near their homes, a “problem intersection.”

It’s the spot where Vanowen Street meets Buena Vista Street. Vanowen Street ends at Buena Vista Street – the latter running over railroad tracks right next to the intersection – and the homes on North Buena Vista have been plagued by numerous accidents over the past few decades, including one on Tuesday morning.

According to a Burbank Police Department spokesman, the accident occurred at 4:37 a.m. at 1835 Buena Vista Street. Fortunately, the house on the property was protected from damage by a concrete wall and a large tree.

Footage from the scene showed a black Nissan Altima crashing into a light pole and crashing through the concrete wall. Police confirmed that one person – an elderly man – was taken to hospital with a head injury as a result of the impact.

The intersection was closed for hours on Tuesday morning while emergency services were busy clearing up the damage caused by the accident. It is not known how fast the man was driving or whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident.

Tuesday morning’s accident came less than two weeks after a Tesla crashed into a Buena Vista home on May 15. Homeowner Regina Reyes says while she is thankful neither her family nor the driver involved were seriously injured, she and other residents are frustrated by the constant threat of reckless drivers.

Reyes’ neighbors, the Castro family, have lived in their home since the 1950s and have seen drivers on Vanowen Street “constantly” driving drunk and recklessly too fast, endangering the row of houses nearby.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and seen a lot of accidents, especially at the (pink) corner house,” Michael Castro said. “It’s dangerous… I wish (officials) would do more.”

Local residents say the pink house at 1838 Buena Vista Street is known as the “most accident-prone house in the country,” and newspaper articles from the 1960s report dozens of accidents and collisions in that one house alone.

According to reports, the owners even suggested at one point that the city government buy the house because the property was too unsafe to use as a residential building.

The Burbank city government has erected partitions and barricades to protect the houses, but residents say that is not enough; they are demanding a stronger police presence, more traffic lights and the installation of speed bumps.