09:16 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 11, 2006

By DON WALL / WFAA-TV

WFAA-TV

Residents near the intersection where a car crashed into a home said it is a dangerous spot and want to see that change.

An unlicensed 16-year-old crashed a car into a home's library Sunday night at the intersection of Matilda and Belmont, which many residents have called a dangerous corner.

Laura DeVault said the car that plowed through the brick wall of her study around 8:30 p.m. While she was in the kitchen could have fatally struck her had she been in the study instead.

"Oh, it would have been a direct hit," she said. "It would have hit me square...It sounded like it was an explosion. The next thing I knew, there was a car in the middle of my room."

However, the wreck wasn't the first to strike the intersection near her home. She said there have been accidents at the corner of Matilda and Belmont every week.

While nobody was seriously injured in either the car or home Sunday night, residents said the two-way stop at the intersection has been a problem for some time and want to see it become a four-way stop for safety. The problem, residents said, is that people think the four-way stop is actually a two-way stop.

"Something has got to be done," DeVault said.

Police said most of the accidents are minor and never reported, but neighbors said they still feel it is unsafe.

Jennifer Sullivan is among many who requested the change a couple of years ago, but Dallas Public Works said there was not enough traffic.

"Unfortunately, sometimes a wreck like last night has to happen before people take notice of what you need," Sullivan said.

News 8 watched the intersection for several minutes, and while many cars slowed down at the stop sign, most never stopped.

Last November, Merritt Martin crashed into another car after the driver ran the stop sign. Her wrist is now held together by a steel brace.

E-mail dwall@wfaa.com