Driver Loses Control, Crashes into Home on Grand Avenue

The driver of the vehicle (maroon SUV) hopped the curb, drove into the yard where he hit the white van and finally the house on the left. FTM file. 

Lindsey Hartness was in her front yard on Grand Avenue taking her dog out. She walked back inside to her home and three minutes later, in the very spot that she was standing, a car jumped a curb on a windy spot in the road, barreled through her yard, and smashed into her car that was parked in her driveway.

It was the third time her car had been hit in a similar manner and the second time her car had been totaled. Each time drivers, who have been intoxicated in some form or fashion, have failed to navigate the windy stretch of the 100 block of Grand Avenue and have headed toward the homes that sit back off the road about 20 yards.

She's lived in her home for six years, but she said it's a trend that she believes is increasing.

Campbell County YMCA. This is an advertisement. 

"In the last two years it's gotten bad," she said. "We're scared. We need a guardrail. Something needs to be done to keep cars out of our yards and homes. The sign they put up after the last accident clearly didn't do anything to stop this guy."

After hitting Hartness' car, the driver of the vehicle then crashed into her neighbor's home, before coming to a rest. Hartness said that she came outside after hearing the noise and saw emergency responders administer a dosage of Narcan, a drug given to counteract and reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

The vehicle hit this home. FTM file. 

Fort Thomas Police responded quickly to secure the scene.

“We know our residents are frustrated. We are too. We will continue to do everything we can to protect them," said Lt. Rich Whitford of Fort Thomas Police. "The accidents have been alcohol and drug related. This drug epidemic is not letting up, we are doing all we can to protect our residents."

Mark Mullins, 45, from Cincinnati, was taken to the hospital. He was charged with Driver Under the Influence and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

According to Whitford, the paraphernalia was a needle.

Mark Mullins, 2015 mugshot. 

In September of 2016, a similar accident occurred in the same block on Grand, resulting in a fatality. The driver in that accident jumped the curb and ended up crashing into a tree just two houses down from this crash.

RELATED: Car Crash Fatality on Grand Avenue

In January of 2017 a car jumped that same curb, overcorrected and traversed across four lanes of traffic before crashing into the northbound lanes of Grand.

That crash was the final straw for residents in that stretch of Grand Avenue, who have since joined the conversation at the city council level to ask for protective measures that could include a guardrail, a road diet or lowering the speed limit.




Since Grand Avenue is a state route, the Kentucky Transportation Department has jurisdiction over the road, which would include making any changes or adjustments to the traffic pattern.

The windy stretch of Grand Avenue. A sign, in the distance, was installed by the Kentucky Transportation Dept. after the last crash. 

RELATED: After Another Crash, Residents Want to be Protected 
RELATED: Citizen Input Encouraged on Grand Avenue Dangers

"In Fort Thomas, we are known as a community that walks and gets outside a lot, but we can't do that on this stretch," said Matt Twehues in the January 2017 article. He lives on that stretch of Grand Avenue. "We feel like sitting targets."