Folks who live along Baltimore Road in Advance are heartbroken.

They’re also not surprised.

On Saturday morning, three 16 year olds from Davidson County lost their lives in a car crash on a straight stretch of the once rural road.

Some of those residents lit up Facebook on Saturday, complaining about the too-high speed limit, passing zones, and incourteous drivers since Ashley Furniture opened its doors. There’s also more garbage thrown into their yards.

“When will our county and state realize that Baltimore Road needs to have the speed limit dropped and the passing zones eliminated due to the heavy traffic the road has now,” said David Watts. “I have been living here for 10 years. With all of the expansion there is at least one major wreck a month.

“After Saturday’s death of teenagers, when will someone wake up and address this major problem. If not, there will only be more and more,” Watts said.

The teens – Gavin Ivey, Todd Goetaski and Justin McGee – were on their way to play airsoft.

Ivey was driving a Lexus 1300 at a high rate of speed and pulled out to pass a pickup in a passing zone, and swerved it back into his lane because of an oncoming SUV. He lost control of the vehicle, and it crashed into the SUV, reported N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael Baker. The morning was foggy.

The driver of the SUV, Henry Lewis Whitaker Jr. of Advance, was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for treatment of injuries, and has since been released from the hospital.

All three of the teens were students at West Davidson High School.

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Another almost weekly site for serious wrecks is I-40, through construction zones – construction that is scheduled to last for years.

At 5:32 p.m. Saturday, Chanda Sifford, 28, of Winston-Salem, died after the vehicle she was driving hydroplaned, left the road and struck a tree. Two passengers were seriously injured.

The following evening, another crash about three miles away seriously injured motorists.