Third pedestrian hit in Lithia crosswalk
LITHIA, Fla. — Authorities anticipate that a 12-year-old boy is going to make a full recovery after sustaining injuries while attempting to cross a street while walking in the crosswalk. This pedestrian accident is the third time within the last year that someone was hit while walking in that same crosswalk according to ABC Action News. All three accidents happened between 8:30 a.m. and 8:55 a.m. The perilous crosswalk is less than one mile from Barrington Middle School.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department has taken action to prevent a tragedy from occurring while children cross the busy Boyette Road. After the 12-year-old boy was hit Tuesday morning, March 26, 2019, before school in the crosswalk. Sheriff’s deputies took up a post near that crosswalk after the accident. They saw children having to dodge cars as the kids tried to cross the street.
Deputies went back to the scene over the following two days to observe and act. Again, children risked their lives trying to cross the street, despite the efforts of a concerned neighbor who donned a reflective vest and acted as a crossing guard. The man reported three “near misses” while he was out there. Fortunately, Hillsborough County Deputies were in place to encounter the offenders and issue citations for their transgressions. Deputies stopped at least six traffic offenders for failing to yield to pedestrians.
Local authorities have understood this location for a while to be dangerous. Officials installed the crosswalk in August of 2017 in response to complaints from parents and others that Boyette Road does not have any sidewalks. Now, after the third pedestrian accident at this very spot, officials must reexamine installing additional safety measures to protect pedestrians.
County Commissioners vowed to take rapid action to prevent further pedestrian accidents. They said that there would be a police presence in the morning. Also, they will cut back trees to reduce visibility problems as well as install new warning signals. Furthermore, school officials will speak to students about being careful when crossing.
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