DAVENPORT, Fla. (WFLA) — More lights will be installed near Davenport High School following the crash that left a 15-year-old girl in critical condition on Tuesday morning.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Valeria Cosme, 15, was walking in the crosswalk across county road 547 on her way to Davenport High School at around 6:45 a.m. when she was hit by a box truck.
“It appears that the person driving the truck was driving below the speed limit and it was dark,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “When there’s not light, people can just appear in front of your vehicle when they cross in front of you.”
The truck had a dash camera, and investigators are reviewing the video, according to the sheriff.
It’s the third child who has been hit and injured by a vehicle on their way to Davenport High School since August, according to Polk County Public Schools spokesperson Kyle Kennedy.
“We can’t see another kid get hit because they don’t have any resources to put out here at least for an hour or two in the morning,” said Frank L., who drives his two daughters to school in the morning.
“It’s really frustrating to hear that another student got hurt this morning because all of the risks have been here all along,” said Laurel Slater, whose two sons go to the school.
Slater said the beacon at the crosswalk only flashes for elementary and middle school students, who arrive at schools nearby over an hour later than high school students.
“They’re not turned on in the early morning hours for the high schoolers. That’s a really easy solution. I don’t know why it hasn’t been done yet but it needs to be done now,” said Slater.
Polk County Public Schools superintendent Frederick Heid has ordered the lights be adjusted to operate for high school students starting at 6:15 a.m.
“We’re told that Duke Energy will soon be installing a light at this crosswalk. It’s my understanding that Duke will also install additional lights in the vicinity of DHS,” Kennedy wrote in a statement.
The sheriff said his office is also investigating the lack of street lights near the school.
“If there are no streetlights on 547 in the presence of or in the vicinity of that high school, certainly that’s gonna be our recommendation,” said Judd.
Inadequate lighting for students was addressed in Lake Wales just last week.
The city and Duke Energy added a street light to a bus stop where a 13-year old Jadin Galindo was recently hit by a car, and later died.
