Polk County officials, developers address safety concerns after 15-year-old hit, killed at intersection
LAKELAND, Fla. - After a 15-year-old boy was hit and killed while on his way to school, concerned residents are now questioning why the busy intersection where the crash happened isn't safer for pedestrians.
The tragic accident happened at the 3900 block of West Pipkin Road near the intersection of Medulla Road Tuesday morning.
JD Alexander, the manager of AtlanticBlue Capital, which is the developer of the Riverstone subdivision on West Pipkin and Medulla Road, said they agreed with the City of Lakeland to pay and install a traffic signal at the intersection once all of the homes were built.
They've been working for a year and a half to get the signal approved by Polk County, and they were also hit with supply chain issues, so the project has been stalled. The signal's arm shafts have been constructed, but that's it so far.
"We pressed hard trying to get it done, and we've asked the county whether they could acquire the control boxes and whether it could be put in faster," said Alexander. "We work within the system of the engineering policy work to get these kind of things done."
A spokesperson for Polk County said they and the city did try to come up with a temporary solution to address safety concerns.
"That's when the temporary directional, what we call 'deflectors' were put in to try to limit conflicts at that intersection at least temporarily until the signal could be put in," said Jay Jarvis, the Roads and Drainage Director of Polk County.
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Jarvis adds a temporary signal at the intersection wasn't an option because there would've been a delay in getting the equipment for that as well.
Jaxon Crabtree, 15, was trying to cross West Pipkin Road on his bicycle to get to Central Florida Aerospace Academy shortly before 7 a.m. when he was hit by a school bus.
Pictured: Jaxon Crabtree
Police say the 71-year-old driver was not speeding and some have questioned whether a traffic signal could've prevented the crash.
A push-button pedestrian crosswalk and street lighting, which are part of the Pipkin Road construction project, will be added at the same time the traffic signal will be installed.
Alexander expects the traffic signal to be installed by February or March.