GUNTOWN, Miss. (WTVA) -- It's a night Nickey and Wanda Hopkins will not likely forget.
Not long ago, a driver speeding through their neighborhood lost control and crashed into their bedroom.
"It knocked me out of the bed. I looked up, and there's a hole in my wall, and the car was backing out," Hopkins said.
The driver would back his car out and drive away. The person was never caught.
What happened to the Hopkins is extreme, but it came as no surprise to Police Chief Michael Hall.
He believes radar will make believers out of those who fail to obey speed limits.
"Everybody through here is pretty concerned about it on account of kids, but I think they need to do something about it," Guntown resident Ronnie Bradley said.
"We have residential neighborhoods that complain of speed where their children are outside and concerned for their safety along with the citizens of Guntown," Chief Hall said.
Chief Hall said recent Census figures show Guntown has grown to more than 2,000 people, which opens the door to radar under state law.
He said the population grows even higher during the school day.
"I think it is very important that if we could get something done — radar or anything. I told them it didn't matter what it was as long as we could get the people to slow down because you're talking about lives. Our house could be repaired, but a life can't," Wanda Hopkins said.
Guntown mechanic Ray Mann believes speeding is an issue here, but he's not a big fan of radar.
"It may be a good thing so as long as it ain't no way of entrapping, like speed traps or anything of that nature," Mann said.
Chief Hall said if his department gets permission to use radar, officers will issue warning citations for the first few months.
The Board of Aldermen may take up the issue during its next regular meeting on February 4.
