UPDATE: Frequent Accidents at Intersection Where Ten-Year-Old Child was Killed

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on April 28, 2019

After the devastating fatal bicycle accident that happened on Wednesday, April 24th, and left a ten-year-old dead after being struck by a semi at the intersection of Landstar Boulevard and Wetherbee Road, the Florida Highway Patrol investigated the area to determine whether or not it was the intersection itself that was the problem. Their preliminary investigation – only the result of several days of work, at the time of this writing – suggests that, far from being an isolated incident, this incident was only one of close to 25 separate crashes that have occurred at the same intersection between 2017 and now.

The accident which resulted in this investigation involved a semi-truck and a ten-year-old child who was riding their bike home after classes at Wetherbee Elementary School. It is not believed that the authorities have yet identified or apprehended the driver of the truck responsible for inflicting the fatal injuries upon the child.

The intersection between Landstar Boulevard and Wetherbee Road is also close to a subdivision where many people live. Because many large trucks travel through this area on their way to other parts of Orlando, the people who live nearby are in a uniquely dangerous situation.

A mother of a child who attends Wetherbee Elementary School was concerned about the area even before the fatal accident and the reports from the Florida Highway Patrol concerning the number of crashes. According to News 6, this parent reached out to officials at the beginning of the school year with a request for additional crossing guards to be posted along this busy street. It does not appear that this request was fulfilled. More troublingly, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office released a statement the day after the child was killed saying that there were likely already enough crossing guards in the area.

One of the three crossing guards is indeed stationed at the intersection of Wetherbee Road and Landstar Road, however this guard is located on the opposite side of Wetherbee from where the child was struck and killed. This would seem to indicate that the intersection does indeed need additional crossing guards.

Traffic engineers from Orange County are being sent to the location of the accident in order to evaluate if it warrants increased pedestrian safety measures.

Sources:

• Dozens of crashes reported at intersection where boy was fatally struck by semi

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.