article
TAMPA, Fla. – For Christine Vickers, the sounds of East Tampa aren’t just the typical hum of city life; they are the screeching tires and shattering glass of a twenty-year nightmare.
Living at the corner of 17th Street and MLK since 1979, Vickers has spent the last two decades watching her front yard become a frequent landing zone for out-of-control vehicles.Â
In her front yard there are heavy metal poles, a “front line of defense” she installed to keep cars from barreling into the home she has lived in for most of her life.
“I’ve been staying there since ‘79,” Vickers said. “Sometimes (there are) two or three times a month. Somebody’s gonna get hurt.”
The backstory:
The frequency of accidents has forced Vickers to change her daily habits.Â
She now uses a P.O. Box because she is too afraid to walk to her own mailbox.Â
The financial toll has been equally heavy; as a senior on a fixed income, she has faced thousands of dollars in repairs, rising insurance premiums, and drivers who often lack sufficient coverage to make her whole.
By the numbers:
FOX 13 requested records from both the Florida Department of Transportation and the Tampa Police Department of crashes at the intersection:
FDOT Records (2020–2025): 21 crashes in just five years, 14 of which were “angled” crashes. Three resulted in direct damage to Vickers’ property.TPD Records (2007–2025): At least 25 documented crashes, with many occurring in the median or sending vehicles into Vickers’ yard.
What they’re saying:
Vickers’ said her pleas for help went largely unanswered until FOX13’s story caught the eye of newly elected City Councilwoman Naya Young, who represents East Tampa.
“I was very surprised. It’s not often that you hear something like that,” Young said.
Young went out to meet with Vickers and see the intersection for herself.Â
“She just kept saying her ultimate goal is because there’s a school across the street, she wants the kids to be safe.”
Young has since engaged the city’s Mobility Department, which is now considering larger stop signs and conducting a formal traffic study to evaluate enhanced safety measures.
What’s next:
FDOT confirmed to FOX13 that they are also exploring solutions, including potential modifications to the median to prevent the frequent angled crashes.Â
The department plans to observe traffic flow near the nearby schools, collect “near-miss” data, and evaluate current speed limits and sight distances, among other measures.Â
READ: Ybor City residents push for pedestrian safety changes months after deadly crash
While a permanent solution may take time, Councilwoman Young says she is committed to the cause.
“I’m committed to getting something done while I’m here in the office, and so we’re working towards that. I want to be able to give her that peace of mind that the city does care,” Young said.
Vickers would like to see a stoplight at the intersection.
For Vickers, the help couldn’t come soon enough. “The next time,” she worried, “it might be up in my house.”
The Source: FOX 13’s Genevieve Curtis gathered this information from an interview with Christine Vickers, an East Tampa Homeowner, interview with Tampa City Councilwoman Naya Young, Crash Data and Correspondence with the Florida Department of Transportation and Tampa Police Department Accident Records (2007–2025).