LA MESA, CA (KGTV) — New information shows why a stretch of Spring Street is considered one of La Mesa's most dangerous roads.
Through a public records request, ABC 10News obtained data showing the number of crashes on Spring Street from Lemon Avenue to Palm Avenue & Gateside Road. From January 1, 2020 to October 31, 2025, the La Mesa Police Department is reporting 57 crashes on the section of Spring Street. The top two reasons — speeding and drunk driving.
I started digging into data about street safety in La Mesa after a car damaged a nearby home and destroyed the RV parked at the property. In May, I found a report by the city of La Mesa called the Local Road Safety Plan that details the landscape of road safety in La Mesa. In that report, the section of Spring Street where the car hit the neighboring home is listed as the sixth most dangerous road in the city because of the frequency and severity of crashes. However, the report does not go into detail about the crashes, prompting us to follow the public records request.
Tom and Christie Villareal are the couple whose home was damaged by the crash. For years, they had been concerned about the possibility of a car hitting their home because of the safety on Spring Street and driving patterns.
"All you do, especially when traffic lights up, you hear people hauling [explicit] right through there," Tom said. "I mean, they're speeding right through there late at night".
They were shocked to learn about the new data we found.
"That blew me out of the water," Christie said. "To have that many accidents on record in an amount of 5 years, who is not looking at this to see that there's something seriously wrong up [on Spring St]".
More than seven months since the crash, there's been some progress made. Tom and Christie have since repainted their home; however, not by desire.
"We have to," Tom said. "We didn't want to be staring this in the face all the time".
The paint doesn't quite cover up the emotional damage from a tough seven months.
"I still wake up to noises, cars going by, and motorcycles going by," Christie said. "I think it's going to be with me for the rest of my life and as long as we're here".
Recently, the city finished making new safety modifications to Spring Street after announcing the plans in August. The city restriped the road to make the lanes thinner on the street. It also installed a new automated speed sign for drivers to see their speed. Now seeing the changes in person, Tom and Christie aren't too thrilled that this is all that's being done.
"This is a laugh," Christie said. "Who's going to pay attention at 12:30 in the morning, pitch black, pitch dark?".
I requested an interview with La Mesa City Manager Greg Humora to discuss the new modifications and the new data I recently discovered.
He declined. I was given no reason as to why he declined. This is the second story regarding the new modifications at Spring Street that he has declined.
Next, I reached out to Mayor Mark Arapostathis' office three times for an interview on the same topics.
Same answer — no. Twice, I was told the mayor was unavailable, and once, I received no response to my request. Instead, a city spokesperson sent a statement reading the following:
"Safety is the City’s top priority. Following a City-conducted roadway assessment, a series of recommended improvements have been implemented. We remain committed to monitoring the area, responding to community concerns, and taking appropriate steps to ensure public safety."
While speaking with them about the modifications, a neighbor in the apartment complex above Spring Street chimed in on the conversation, expressing the same discontent as the Villareals.
"This place is dangerous. 71 in a 40. Not okay," the neighbor said. "All the time. Normal. It's normal. There's nothing, nothing different. They put a new sign like it was gonna change something. Didn't do anything. Same thing every day".
Tom and Christie say they've proposed several other ideas to the city about more protection for their home and drivers on Spring Street. Those ideas include building a retaining wall to protect their home.
"If we had [a wall], you probably wouldn't be doing a story about us right now," Tom said.
They are also proposing the idea of adding a stop sign down the road at Fresno Avenue. In the meantime, the new safety measures are in, and they have the new paint at home, but the old worries are still alive.
"Doesn't feel good at all, because it puts in my mind, I'm waiting for it to happen again," Christie said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
