FRESNO, Calif. - Tens of thousands of drivers cross the intersection at Friant Road and Shepherd Avenue every day. And if they’re lucky, they make it out safely.
The North Fresno intersection has become so dangerous that what happens here has been given a dubious title: “Friant Roulette.”
“We were hearing a lot of accidents, a lot of sirens, a lot of problems that were going screeching, breaking, and crashing behind our fence,” Dan Wells said. “About every week, we’d catch something happening.”
Wells has a front row seat to this unique problem in one of Fresno’s most affluent neighborhoods.
Wells and his son decided at one point to set up two security cameras right above their tall brick wall in their backyard to monitor the intersection and document.
"It’s a gamble every time you drive through this intersection."Dan Wells, Fresno resident
Their videos started going to a YouTube channel named “Friant Roulette” three years ago. Since then, they have posted nearly 100 videos and amassed over 14,700 subscribers. Some people tune into a livestream that runs 24/7 and catches real-time tragedy.
Just last year, a young woman was killed when a tow truck driver ran a red light and slammed into her car at the intersection. Wooden crosses and brightly colored pinwheels mark the spot where several lives have now been lost.
The memorial faces the intersection that many have now come to fear and is also adjacent to a walking trail used by visitors to Woodward Park – peace and serenity on one side and mayhem on the other.
“It’s a gamble every time you drive through this intersection,” Wells said.
Nick Richardson represents District 6 on the Fresno City Council, and by default is now in charge of developing solutions to this problem that has residents fed up.
At a town hall meeting earlier in September, Richardson presented three solutions: reducing lanes, adding medians, and installing new light signal systems.
Dozens showed up. And many nodded their heads as he spoke. The only consensus was that change is needed. An independent analysis of car accidents by the injury law firm Jacoby and Meyers found this Fresno intersection to be the most dangerous in the city. The firm found it has the highest rate of crashes – 21 between 2020 and 2024.
Wells, who brought attention to the issue through his YouTube page, said more could be done. After a series of incidents – some deadly – patterns have emerged. However, he said there doesn’t seem to be just one problem.
Still, he proposes adjusting the northbound traffic and the three lanes on Shepherd that turn left onto Friant.
Wells said the goal of his YouTube channel was to try to help make the neighborhood safer. And now people from all over care about it. Eagle-eyed viewers stay on the lookout for unusual incidents, and reach out to Wells to provide their insights, he said.
Fixing this intersection has become a crucial matter.
Warren Paboojian has represented families of victims who were hurt or killed at the intersection. He’s a top injury attorney in Fresno.
“Currently, I got one [case] pending, and I've probably handled four or five in the past, just me in the last two years,” Paboojian said.
Paboojian believes that the city can step in to stop more injuries. He said city officials could implement strategies like re-timing the light signals and adding more police enforcement.
“I think the city can do more, and they have the resources and the ability, and they need to do more,” Paboojian says. “And motorists have got to pay attention and drive slower.”
Richardson says he’s listening.
“Safety is one of those things like transparency that you're never done working toward,” he told residents who showed up to the recent town hall meeting. “It's like going to the gym, you keep going because you're always working, striving for a safer community.”
This is Richardson’s first term on the Fresno City Council. He assured neighbors that reflective markers have gone into the roads, as well as “no turn on red” signs. But he acknowledges that the matter isn’t fully resolved.
“It's one of my priorities in this term to have some significant infrastructure changes to Friant and Shepherd to make it just over the top safe for everybody,” Richardson said.
