Fairfield family wants city action after 4th car crash on their property in 5 years

By Ashley Sharp
A Fairfield family says they are fed up after a car wrecked onto their property along Travis Boulevard for the fourth time in just five years.
Eddie Avila and his wife, Hope Viera, say that since 2021, drivers have crashed their vehicles directly into their house two times and into their fence and backyard twice.
“I can’t believe it happened again,” Avila said.
Their home sits at Monroe Street and Travis Boulevard.
Monday night, Nov. 17, the fourth incident sent a pickup truck barreling through their fence, into their backyard and finally into the neighbor’s yard.
Police said the driver, who was transported to the hospital for treatment, also hit a light pole and knocked the power out on the block for about an hour.
“It’s a lot of work ahead of us. We are kind of used to it now,” Avila said, looking at his damaged fence.
He and his wife raised their family here and have owned the home for nearly 30 years. They don’t want to consider moving, especially with their mortgage nearly paid off, but they say at this point it might be their only option.
In total, they say they have spent tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket to fix the damage caused by reckless drivers.
“It’s crazy. It’s a little depressing because I just finished fixing the house and this happens again,” Avila said.
In January, a car crashed directly into their home and damaged two of their bedrooms. They are simply grateful no one was hurt.
“It’s scary going to bed and not knowing if your family is safe,” Avila said.
The speed limit on the busy stretch of Travis Boulevard is 35 miles per hour, but Avila says cars move through much faster on average. Viera described it as living inches from the freeway.
In 2021, the first car crashed right into the family’s living room.
The driver, whom Avila says was fleeing from police in a high-speed chase, left behind damage that looked like a tornado had ripped through the home. The couple was not home at the time, but their children were.
“It’s definitely scary to come home and there’s a car in your living room,” Viera said.
They want answers as to why this keeps happening.
“Because it’s not just us. There’s been a couple of houses up the street that have gotten hit as well,” Viera said.
They question whether a dip in the road is causing speeding drivers to lose control.
Viera also suggested the city could add speed bumps, more stop signs, or other traffic calming measures to try and get drivers to slow down.
“I would first ask them to investigate the road because there’s a reason why this happened. It’s just not a coincidence. I think if, if it’s not the road, maybe put some sort of barrier there, something to protect the home,” Avila said.
The couple worries it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or even killed.
CBS Sacramento reached out to the City of Fairfield’s traffic engineering department for data on crashes at this intersection and what has caused them.
We are still waiting to get that information back.




