FRAMINGHAM — Since the first day of school two weeks ago, Jacquilina Shanklin said students have been speeding past her A Street home at all hours of the day when leaving Framingham High School. She said she contacted the schools and police to complain, worried something would happen.
On Monday, it did.
“The accident occurred today,” said Shanklin. “The kid came out of the high school parking lot, popped on his gas to take the corner quick and ’drift,’ and he flew into my yard and crashed into my car.”
Shanklin said her car was parked in the driveway, “and it’s now totaled.”
Shanklin said there are about 10 students who drive dangerously as they leave school each day — often several times a day. She said they often hang out in the parking lot and leave several hours after school ends, sometimes as late as 10 p.m.
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Shanklin said she has lived at 100 A St. for about 11 years, but that the teen driving problems only started about two years ago. She said that besides the speeding, there is a lot of noise during the school day and a student who cuts through her yard on foot and knocks down her fence.
“Since then, it has gotten a lot worse,” said Shanklin. “It was never like this.”
Paul Wilkens, who lives next door, agreed there have been several incidents of students speeding. He said it happens throughout the day and that students often congregate outside during the school day, making it loud.
“What happened scared me,” he said. “I have two young daughters. What if they are in the front yard and something like this happened? There’s been a lot of activity, a lot of kids driving back and forth all day.”
Framingham Police spokeswoman Lt. Rachel Mickens said Monday’s crash occurred about 11:34 a.m. She said the 17-year-old driver was uninjured and the crash remains under investigation.
In a notice to parents, Principal Mark Albright told them about the accident, specifically that the “student driver lost control” while pulling out of the parking lot and was expected to be OK. He thanked the Police and Fire departments for their quick response.
Superintendent of Schools Robert Tremblay said several people have said they’re concerned about speeding around the high school, and that the school has tried to minimize students disturbing residents.
Tremblay also said Framingham High is an open campus for upperclassmen. He said there is an area near the lower athletic field known as “Privilege Park,” where students are encouraged to hang out. He said staff members will go out during the day and do “sweeps” to move students to that area, rather than hanging out on A Street or other areas.
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“It’s something you have to manage all of the time at the high school,” Tremblay said.
Shanklin said she hopes Monday’s incident will lead to the school taking complaints more seriously.
“It was never like this before,” she said. “It was peaceful. My husband was out there. My husband had just walked away to get water. If he hadn’t moved… this could have been someone’s life, or my husband could have ended up paralyzed.”
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerJournalist.

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