Family of a 13-year-old boy hit by a car while walking to school Wednesday in Northwest Jacksonville says he is not expected to survive, according to Times-Union news partner First Coast News.
Kameron Turner was hit by a car while crossing Kings Road with his younger brother. He was the second boy to get hit by a car in five days in Jacksonville. The mother of the boy hit on March 29 on the Westside says he will be in a wheelchair for weeks.
Florida ties with Texas for the second-highest number of pedestrian deaths in the country, according to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 2021. This year, First Coast News has reported on at least 13 incidents of pedestrians getting hit by cars on the First Coast and at least eight of them have been deadly.
First Coast Newsmet with Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Hampton Ray on Lenox Avenue, the site of some of the newest pedestrian safety efforts in the city. Ray explained there are new crosswalks with flashing lights here because the agency’s studies showed they were needed and it was unlikely people would walk all the way down to the nearest stoplight to use a crosswalk.
“Essentially what it is is a mid-block crossing, which is in between two intersections,” Ray said. “And pedestrians can just go press the button, lights come on and alerts drivers to stop.”
Similar devices are now installed at the Beaches. Ray said they are called hawks. There are two red lights on top and a yellow or amber light at the bottom.
He explains the red lights will blink when it’s safe to cross. He said an infrared sensor was installed at San Jose Boulevard and Haley Road after a crash that killed a woman in 2013. The sensor was added in part due to the Orthodox Jewish community there, which prohibits the use of technology on Shabbat and other religious holidays.
“Whenever a crash occurs on the roadway, FDOT has a team of safety professionals that look at and evaluate the roadway itself to see if anything could have been done to prevent the crash or make the area safer,” Ray said.The chairman of Jacksonville’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee said there is no “silver bullet” to keep everyone safe, but it is possible. He points to the city of Hoboken, N.J., a city of close to 60,000 people, which the Associated Pressreports has not had a traffic death in seven years.
This committee meets the first Thursday of every month virtually and in Jacksonville’s Ed Ball Building on the third floor in conference room 3112.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office currently has a High Visibility Enforcement contract from the Institute of Police Technology and Management and FDOT to use to pay for overtime traffic deployments focused on pedestrian and bicyclist safety. A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the average officer has overtime deployments several times a week. They say the contract “has been instrumental in engaging the community to prevent traffic fatalities.
The contract ends in May and although the spokesperson said the Sheriff’s Office has participated in the program the last two years, it’s too soon to determine if the agency will apply for 2025.
Pedestrian accidents can result in catastrophic injuries and even fatalities, leaving victims and their families with overwhelming emotional and financial burdens. At Ovadia Law Group, we understand the unique challenges faced by pedestrians who have been injured in accidents involving vehicles. Our experienced attorneys specialize in pedestrian accident cases and are committed to providing compassionate support and aggressive representation to victims. We will thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding your accident, determine liability, and fight tirelessly to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries, medical expenses, and other losses. Don’t bear the burden of a pedestrian accident alone – contact Ovadia Law Group today at 1-800-674-9396 for a free consultation. Let us be your advocates and help you seek justice and financial recovery.
Source: azcentral
