Accident victims launch petition to call for changes to make the junction safer
SURVIVORS of a road accident in St Mellons have launched a petition to make sure others avoid suffering the same fate.
The couple say no changes have been made to the layout of the stretch of road they crashed on in the two years since the accident.
Marshfield residents Charlene and Dominic Lijertwood collided with another vehicle at the give-way junction between St Mellons Road and Heol Las (Green Lane).
Mr Lijertwood, 45, who was driving the family’s white Citroen, said he approached the give way junction slowly where it bends into a fork onto Heol Las.
However, he said that as he turned right he collided with another car that was travelling at about 60mph. The Citroen was lifted off the ground in the impact. The other vehicle rolled over and ended up on its roof.
The other driver, who was not local, was not aware that the road was not straight through, according to Ms Lijertwood, 37.
Emergency services were called to treat him. The Lijertwoods were not aware of his injuries.
“It was an absolute nightmare,” said Ms Lijertwood.
“Had we been a few seconds further into our journey, it would have been a completely different story.”
“We potentially wouldn’t have walked away from that crash,” she said.
They had been on their way to the wedding of his best friend after dropping their then five-year-old son off at his grandmother’s house.
Reuben, who is now seven, suffered bruises to his back in the crash and went on to have night terrors as a result.
“Initially we had to completely change his bedroom because he was too scared to sleep. That took quite a significant amount of time for us to rectify,” Ms Lijertwood said.
Even now she said he still gets upset about being in the car.
Ms Lijertwood, who works at Bassaleg High School, has now launched a petition on Change.org to ask that St Mellons Road’s road safety measures be reviewed.
The roughly one-mile road, which runs through Marshfield village, lacks mirrors and visibility is poor. It has no clear road markings and is the national speed limit, says Ms Lijertwood.
“It’s scary to think nothing has changed and someone will end up dying due to this,” she said.
Ms Lijertwood regularly used the road because her family lives in Llanrumney and it is quicker to go there via St Mellons Road, she said.
But after having seen crashes since and no changes, she will not drive on it any more.
“I would rather take longer and go an alternative route,” she said.
The speed limits of St Mellons Road are an issue according to Ms Lijertwood.
It changes dramatically from 60mph to 20mph, unlike the coast road further along Marshfield which gradually goes down and up in 10mph intervals, she said.
Mr Lijertwood, a firefighter at Duffryn Fire Station, is still receiving physiotherapy for injuries he received to his leg when he slammed the brake hard. This has affected the exercise he takes to keep fit for his job.
“He used to run, but he’s not able to run any more since the crash,” said Ms Lijertwood.
It has also made it harder for him to deal with road accidents during the course of his work.
Ms Lijertwood said he wonders what could have happened if their car was hit further up the road, and they fell into the Heol Las (Green Lane) Reen, which runs parallel to the road.
“He’s had to have help to deal with that,” she said.
Mr and Ms Lijertwood are constantly reminded of their crash by seeing other incidents along the road.
“There was one the other night where there was a crash, and both vehicles were on their roofs, you just think that could have been us,” she said.
Ms Lijertwood still has scarring from the seatbelt on her chest, and both she and her husband had concussions and whiplash at the time.
She said her focus is on road safety, despite the “financial headache” caused by the crash, including money lost buying a new car to replace the totalled Citroen.
Retiree Mark Dawkes, 54, also prefers to avoid St Mellons Road. He says bushes have obscured signs advising drivers of the bridge on the bend of the road.
“It is very hard to approach that, and you have to do it with great caution,” he said.
He also agrees that the stretch where the accident occurred is also misleading. The edge of the road is supposed to be a give-way section, but the markings have faded over time.
“Anybody who knows the area knows that the natural course of the road,” he said.
But, he says, some drivers either don’t know or don’t care.
“I’ve seen I’ve seen vans and lorries and cars go straight across there and add some speed,” he said.
Mr Dawkes also tries to avoid the road, especially at times such as school rush hour, he said.
He has also contacted both Cardiff Council and Newport Council because Heol Las sits right in between both boundaries next to St Mellons Road.
One Marshfield resident, who did not want to be named, told The Cardiffian that she witnessed two crashes in Marshfield within a week.
“That 90-degree bend on St Mellons Road is really dangerous,” she said.
It is a “dangerous trap” especially when it is dark or a lorry or van is coming around, she said.
Tim Griffiths, 54, usually walks around both Marshfield and St Mellons.
Mr Griffiths, who doesn’t drive, said when he walks on St Mellons Road on the weekend, cars often drive by quite close.
“It’s very dangerous because you have cars coming down and up the road and they don’t care,” he said.
Ms Lijertwood’s petition has been signed by 234 people. She and her husband sent emails to local authorities about road safety but said they had received no response.
“I do feel that because it’s on the border of Cardiff and Newport Council, nobody really wants to take ownership,” she said.
“At what point does a change have to happen? Is it for a child to be involved in a fatality? We’ve got adults that are involved in these collisions that have lifelong injuries and impact,” she said.
Marshfield Community Council has acted on several complaints from residents. Cath Davies, chairperson of the council, said she is waiting for an update after she took photos of the area and submitted them to Newport Council.
Ms Davies also finds that dangerous drivers are an issue, she said.
“People don’t drive with due care and attention on St Mellons Road,” she said.
She knew of two car crashes that happened last week, which were brought up at the last community council meeting in the previous week, she said.
She said a crash barrier had recently been put up by Cardiff council to reinstate the bank of Heol Las Reen.
“The city council need to reinstate the white lines at the junction of Heol Las and St Mellons Road,” she added.
Cardiff Council and Newport Council have been approached for comment.
- Ms Lijertwood’s petition can be viewed here
