Brick wall at Rond Point on Whiskey Road damaged by car, again

Stephanie Hill, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Nov. 28—For at least the second time this month, the brick wall at the intersection between Whiskey and Coker Spring roads has been damaged after being hit by a car.

A vehicle hit the Rond Point brick wall Monday morning with enough force to break through the wall and damage a sign at the intersection. The crash caused the pineapple statue on top of the wall to fall onto the top of the car.

The wall was hit Nov. 11 resulting in cracks in the wall, a dent at the point of impact and a broken sign.

Capt. Aaron Dobbs with Aiken Department of Public Safety said no one was arrested or charged for the crash and said it was caused by a mechanical failure.

The current homeowners purchased the property in 2019, and the brick wall has been hit at least six times since, according to Chris Eaton, who owns the property. She said they have had to pay to repair the damage to the wall.

To help prevent future accidents, she has offered up some solutions.

"Redesign the intersection, add the rumble strips to raise awareness before the corner or end of the corner, traffic light, it's a hazard for pedestrians," Eaton said. "Imagine someone coming around this corner walking, they would be dead."

Prevention of further damage to the wall is important because of its historical aspect, she said. Eaton said the house was built in 1927 and the wall in 1928 by the first homeowner.

"It says Rond Point in a big piece of limestone," Eaton said. "It's carved, and then the pineapple ... got taken away on the top of the car."

In 2019, the wall suffered extensive damage when it was struck by a vehicle.

By mid-morning Monday, an inflatable dragon appeared in the opening caused by the crash.

After the wall was damaged in late 2019, people posted memes about the accident on social media. Some of the memes showed a Dollar General Store or an Olive Garden restaurant in the void, and others had Fat Albert, Kool-Aid Man or the General Lee from the old television show "The Dukes of Hazzard" filling the gap.