Serious accident shuts down Smith Street intersection

by Eric Ginsburg

A collision at the intersection of Smith and Edgeworth streets on the north side of downtown Greensboro caused serious damage and knocked down a pole holding up two strings of traffic lights tonight.

Based on the damage to the vehicles, it appears a black Acura traveling north on Edgeworth slammed into a grey BMW traveling east on Smith Street. One witness who heard screeching wheels said she turned to see the BMW spun around twice. The victim’s dog jumped out of the car and the woman driving climbed out after it, bleeding, the witness said.

The accident happened sometime before 7 p.m., and around 10:30 p.m. police said in a press release that the intersection reopened to traffic.

Exact details aren’t immediately available, but the woman driving the BMW is in the hospital, according to her fiance who was on the scene around 8 p.m. The man driving the Acura is believed to be okay.

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This accident, which looks horrible and sounds like it could’ve potentially been a lot worse, reminds me to be grateful. I live two blocks from where it happened — I can see it out of my apartment window and I drive through that intersection every day.

Three weeks ago, on July 7, I was hit by a distracted driver just a few blocks up Smith Street when he ran a solid red light on North Elm Street. He spun my car around in the intersection with Smith but I didn’t crash into anything else, and luckily walked away uninjured. His car insurance company determined yesterday that my car is totaled after his recklessness caused more than $7,000 of damage to my car.

He just finished his first year at Elon Law School, the internet tells me, and played college basketball under Wake Forest’s coach Danny Manning at a previous gig.

Accidents are called accidents for a reason, but I’ve seen the aftermath of countless wrecks at the same intersection of Edgeworth and Smith in the five years I’ve lived in this apartment. Often times I can hear the squeal of the brakes from the kitchen or living room. And after seeing the results of the one earlier this evening, I’m left feeling grateful that my collision, and theirs, wasn’t worse.

Slow down, friends.