RUSSIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Melanie Cikalo and her husband Michael are hoping the Lorain County Engineers Office will again examine safety measures at the intersection of Russia and Oberlin Roads in Russia Township.
The couple and their son were the victims of a Sept. 2021 rear-end crash at the intersection after police say their 1970 Mustang was hit by another vehicle while they were stopped at a stop sign.
Police report the intersection was also the site of a triple fatal crash just a month later after a driver failed to stop at the stop sign. The Lorain County Engineer responded to the crashes by turning the intersection into a four-way stop, but the Cikalo family and other residents living near the intersection believe more safety measures are needed.
"It’s tough trying to stop at an intersection and to wonder if somebody behind you is going to hit you or if they're going to run the stop sign," Cikalo said. “At that moment it’s more of a shock to see if my husband is going to be okay, or if my son in the back seat was okay and then to see the car that hit us flipped over.”
“We’re blessed that we’re alive because there was an accident not even a month or so after ours where there was three fatalities. Something needs to be done, a roundabout, a red light. I know they had rumble strips on the southside that are no longer there.”
Joellen Williams lives down the street from the intersection and has witnessed and responded to several crashes at Oberlin and Russia Roads.
“Something has to be done, this rinky-dink solar light to tell us we have a four-way stop is not doing any good," Williams said. "Something is going to happen. There is going to be another fatality and who knows it could be a semi this time that hits a family. I just can’t get in my car and try and save people.”
“People aren’t paying attention to the stop signs. The sheriff’s deputies are trying to help us as much as they can, but they can’t sit here 24/7.”
News 5 contacted the Lorain County Engineers Office about this case and it responded immediately. The office showed News 5 the results of a 2021 traffic study on the intersection, which determined the location did not have the needed traffic conditions to qualify for the installation of a red light.
News 5 asked the engineer's office if it would conduct a second traffic study, or if it would start the process of seeking funding for the installation of a roundabout at the intersection. The engineering office issued the following statement:
That would be the next step if the existing countermeasures do not work. So far it looks like they are working based on the number of accidents to date. Please have the residents reach out to us as well so we can get an idea of what there concerns are going forward.
The Ohio Highway Patrol told News 5 there have been 11 accidents at, or near the intersection since January 2021.
Meanwhile, Russia Township residents like Debbie Coon are urging the Lorain County Engineers Office to take another look at the safety of the intersection.
“I don’t care what anybody says they need to do something to upgrade this, this is ridiculous. You see all the cars and all the traffic going by right now," Coon said. “The county engineer needs to come out here at sit for three days and take a study because I’d be willing to do it myself. We need some safety out here and we need this done. We need this done by the end of the year next year.”
