PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Portsmouth woman is calling for changes to address years of speeding in her neighborhood after a crash early Wednesday morning damaged her car and left her unable to work.
Veneeca Neal said she heard a loud crash outside her home on Mount Vernon Avenue around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. At first, she thought the noise came from a nearby boat house.
“But then my neighbor came banging on the door and said 'Hey your car hit' so I immediately came outside,” Neal said.
The driver hit Neal’s car first, causing a chain reaction that damaged two more vehicles in front of hers, Neal said.
Neal’s car is now undriveable. As a full-time Lyft driver, she said the damage is affecting her ability to earn a living and meet her weekly ride goals.
“When you complete a certain amount of rides each week, you get a bonus," Neal said. "I'm not gonna meet that goal because I'm out two days now without driving my car.”
The crash also brought back painful memories for Neal, who lost her husband in a car accident in 2021.
“Well the first thing that hit me is because I lost my husband back in 2021 in a car accident and so actually when I saw the impact of her car that it looked like it exploded, it instantly went back to what I saw that night,” Neal said.
According to the police report Neal showed News 3, the driver was traveling at least 50 mph on Mount Vernon Avenue, where the posted speed limit is 25 mph.
Neal said the crash highlights a speeding problem she believes has persisted in the neighborhood for years.
“It doesn't hurt you to go the speed limit,” Neal said.
Neal wants the city to consider installing speed bumps to help prevent similar crashes. News 3 asked the city about its process for considering traffic-calming measures.
Under Portsmouth’s traffic-calming policy, residents can request a review, but the city must first determine whether the road meets its eligibility requirements and document a speeding problem.
The policy applies primarily to residential streets with speed limits of 25 mph or less and daily traffic volumes between 600 and 4,000 vehicles. The city defines a speeding problem using speed-study results that show both the 85th-percentile speed and the average speed are at least 8 mph above the posted limit.
The city uses a phased process that begins with education and speed studies. If speeding continues, the city can move to additional measures, including radar feedback signs, pavement markings and targeted police enforcement.
Physical traffic-calming devices, such as speed tables or raised intersections, are considered only after speed studies show the problem persists and the city determines earlier efforts have not resolved it. The city must also recommend a specific device, with approval from the Portsmouth Police Department and Portsmouth Fire, Rescue & Emergency Services.
Before moving to that final phase, residents must submit a petition showing support from at least 75% of residential properties in the defined service area. The policy says the city primarily funds physical devices, subject to available funding.
Neal urged city officials to visit the neighborhood and consider what can be done to prevent another crash.
“City of Portsmouth, what are we gonna do about this? Come out here and see so that we won't have something like this happening to anybody else,” Neal said.
Neal said she hopes to get a rental car through the driver's insurance while she works out her next steps. She also created a fundraiser page to help her get back on the road.
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