Ashley Andres was driving to work one morning when she was hit by an oncoming vehicle at 92nd Street and Shea Boulevard.

The accident occurred when the driver ran a red light and hit Andres' vehicle as she attempted to make a left turn, the woman recalled.

For the past two years, Andres has watched as other accidents occurred as she worked the hostess stand at Jade Palace, at the northwestern corner of the intersection.

She never thought that one day, she'd be a victim at the same spot.

But according to city records, 92nd and Shea is the second-worst intersection for accidents in the city, already tallying 23 since the beginning of 2012.

"I feel like it's the intersection. People drive too fast through here and many are distracted by other things, like texting," Andres said.

The intersection is topped only by Hayden and Thomas roads, which is No. 1, according to city records.

The 92nd Street and Shea Boulevard intersection is in the vicinity of several busy retail centers and Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center. It has ranked near the top of the list since 2009. That year, it tallied 40 accidents, records show.

Officer David Pubins, a Scottsdale police spokesman, said distracted drivers and speed are the main reasons behind collisions at intersections.

"The common trend is that over half of all collisions are failure to yield speed to control a collision,'' he said. "These (crashes) usually occur in the approaches to the intersections and are typically driver errors due to inattention."

According to police, there have been no fatalities reported near the 92nd Street-Shea Boulevard intersection in the past couple of years.

City records show other intersections along Shea have tended to rank high.

Pubins said Shea Boulevard is a highly congested east and west street that runs through most of the city. Shea also crosses the Loop 101 freeway and runs for miles into Fountain Hills to the east and into Phoenix to the west, making it a favored route for longer commutes.

Other intersections that have been a problem on Shea include at Scottsdale Road and 90th Street.

Overall, however, Hayden and Thomas roads at the southern end of the city has held the top spot since 2006, records show.

This year alone Hayden and Thomas has had 24 reported collisions, with a high of seven accidents in January, records show.

Scottsdale Traffic Engineering Manager Paul Porell said one of the biggest causes for accidents at the intersection comes from the private driveways near the intersection. Each corner has a commercial enterprise.

"Many people are driving into and out of these driveways, which are very close to the intersection," Porell said.

Other causes could be general congestion, the high number of left-turning vehicles in all directions, and failure to reduce speed, according to Porell.

The intersection is about a mile west of Loop 101.

Porell said the city has been trying to reduce these accidents for a while with driver feedback signs that read and display the speed of approaching vehicles.

"Unfortunately, the signs had a diminishing value over time and they became ... routine to drivers," Porell said. "They began to ignore them."

The city plans to reconstruct the area of Hayden and Thomas roads through a $1.2 million federally funded project.

Plans call for widening the intersection, installing dual left-turn lanes, closing median openings, and consolidating some of the driveways around the area, Porell said.

Pubins added the department is looking at adding photo enforcement to Hayden and Thomas in fiscal year 2012-13.

Since 2004, records show, accidents overall in Scottsdale have have been decreasing.

The latest data available, from 2010, show a total of 3,529 crashes for the year, according to records from the Arizona Department of Transportation, which compiles the official reports.

There were 3,687 crashes in 2009 and 4,116 crashes reported in 2008.

Although officials still are working on making intersections around Scottsdale safer, Andres says drivers need to do their part.

"People need to stop running red lights and realize they aren't going to make it."

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