Petition urges fix for deadly Wellsona intersection near Paso Robles

A petition has been started on Change.org to urge Caltrans to fix the Wellsona and Highway 101 intersection north of Paso Robles.

The petition titled “Make the Wellsona/Highway 101 intersection safe for everyone!!” was created by Paso Robles resident Katie Sorensen and had 256 supporters as of Monday evening.

“This intersection is dangerous, and something must be done to correct the issue,” the petition states, adding that an overpass for either Wellsona or Highway 101 “would completely remove the possibility of accidents.”

There have been several accidents at the intersection in the past few years, many of them deadly.

The latest accident happened Friday when a big rig collided with a Chrysler sedan near the intersection. One person was taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center with major injuries.

A Visalia man was killed there in late September. On Sept. 9, a Paso Robles woman was seriously injured when her vehicle and a pickup collided at the intersection. Also, in June, a San Luis Obispo woman was killed in a crash at the same spot. And four people were killed there on Christmas Eve in 2014. Their car collided with a truck.

The petition isn’t the first time residents have called for changes to the intersection. Tribune columnist Phil Dirkx, a longtime Paso Robles resident, called the area a “death strip.”

“For many people, driving on those 7 miles is literally a death-defying act,” Dirkx wrote, and suggested the state at least install traffic signal lights at the Wellsona intersection.

This story was originally published November 14, 2016 at 5:40 AM with the headline "Petition urges fix for deadly Wellsona intersection near Paso Robles."