San Jose

San Jose Man's Property Hit by Cars 23 Times Since 1960s

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A San Jose resident says vehicles have crashed into his property 23 times over the past several decades.

"Every few years we'll get a car that either tears up my fence or goes through my house," Ray Minter said.

The crashes at Minter's Jackson Avenue home date back to 1964. He said most of the wrecks have involved cars speeding off the nearby Interstate 680 off-ramp.

In one case, a car went airborne and plowed into Minter's garage where his dad had been sitting just minutes before. Despite close calls over the years, no one in the home has ever been hurt, Minter said.

But the damage has added up.

"I’ve lost three cars," Minter said.

In addition to replacing cars, Minter has had to replace his front yard, his mailbox and his fence.

Back in 2016, Minter woke up and found a truck had slammed into his parked car, pushing it into his house.

"I heard a rumble and the house started shaking," Minter said. "At first I thought it was an earthquake. I tried to come up in the front and there's the truck's bumper and everything in there. The whole front end of the house was all caved in so I couldn't come out."

Minter said he has reached out to the city and the state and asked them to install more barriers. The city said it has applied for millions in grant money for safety improvements.

"One is a landscape median down the middle of the street that tends to slow down traffic, make it calmer, prevent dangerous left turns into and off of the street," said Colin Heyne with the city's transportation department. "The other is a raised separated bikeway."

Those projects could take 10 years to complete.

NBC Bay Area also reached out to Caltrans to ask if it has any plans to help but did not immediately hear back.

For now, Minter is hoping the reinforced poles and fencing in front of his home will keep the cars out and his family safe.

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