Security-Widefield neighbors want safety changes after car crashes into second floor of church
By Michelle Reyes
KOAA
Two teenagers were hospitalized with serious injuries after driving at high speeds down Main Street, losing control and crashing into the second floor of Iglesia Ni Cristo, or Church of Christ, on Saturday night.
The car was headed south on Main Street near the intersection of Norman Drive around 9:40 p.m. when it veered off the road while making a right turn and struck a landscape boulder, causing the vehicle to go airborne, Colorado State Patrol troopers said.
The driver, an 18-year-old man from Colorado Springs, suffered life-threatening injuries, and the passenger, a 14-year-old boy from the Springs, was seriously hurt, the authorities said.
An investigation into how the crash happened continues.
For neighbors in the Security-Widefield area, the incident is shocking, but not surprising, according to Gazette news partner KOAA.
“I heard a huge crash. I thought a train derailed,” said Jody Wendlowsky, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years.
Wendlowsky says the stretch of road has been a growing problem for years due to speeding and a dangerous curve.
“We don’t walk that corner anymore because it’s too dangerous,” said Wendlowsky.
From the back of her home, an empty hole on the second floor of the church can be seen.
“I’m just praying that they are OK, that they live, and that the parents don’t have to mourn the loss of their children,” said Wendlowsky.
She noted the curve along Main Street makes the area especially dangerous, especially with heavy foot traffic nearby.
“It’s really dangerous because of the schools, the park, the kids,” said Wendlowsky.
She points out a blind spot on that curve if one is driving too fast.
“A lot of times, they’ll be coming around the corner and they don’t know the light’s red, so they run into people,” said Wendlowsky.
Another neighbor, who lives on the northeast corner of Main Street and Norman Drive, wrote to county leaders last year to report that cars have ended up on his property multiple times.
In his letter, the neighbor said the most recent crash at his property was in 2024, causing about $100,000 in damage. He told News5 he had to move out for nearly a year while his home was being fixed.
Wendlowsky vouches for him.
“I mean, the man’s house has been run into so many times they put those big boulders out there just to hopefully, you know, if something hit it, slow it down,” she said.
Neighbors say they want to see changes, hoping this crash is finally a wake-up call for county leaders.
“Maybe if they put one of those lights, ‘prepare to stop when flashing’ or something before they hit that corner, that might help a lot,” added Wendlowsky.