Two more people have been killed trying to cross West Cervantes Street near M Street. The child, age 1, the mother and a friend of the mother were trying to cross the street when they were hit by a a white Dodge Challenger or Charger.
The child’s mother was injured and trauma alerted to Baptist Hospital.
The Pensacola Police Department has asked that the community be on the lookout for the vehicle. If you spot the vehicle or have any other information on the hit and run, call 435-1900. If you want to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 433-STOP.
Since January, Inweekly has reported on the pedestrian and cyclists deaths and injuries on Cervantes Street (Read “People vs. Boathouse“).
Last month, a pedestrian was fatally hit by a car near the intersection of Cervantes Street at Pickens Avenue.
The death toll on Cervantes Street for 2018 has now reached four.
This a direct result of a growing city and a shrinking Police presence. Sad to say, but you better get used to it. For years the PPD was told to do more with less. But, like city hall, everything is good at the top. Now they are almost 30 Officers down and are one of the lowest paid agencies in this area. The city offered a 1% raise. Laughable. When you only have 7 to 10 Officers working this entire city every night, running from call to call, working 12 hour shifts , there is no time for traffic enforcement. A city is only as good as its public safety. Offer some overtime to the Officers you have left, Mr. Mayor, and stick them on Cervantes.
There are too many accidents in this spot. Many people do not cross at crosswalks, not saying that is what happened here, it is a shame a child was killed. I guess would be the driver was drunk or driving on a suspended license.
Check out this article about Orlando’s experiment with temporary road diets:
https://www.moderncities.com/article/2018-mar-orlando-experiements-with-temporary-road-diets
The cost was $75,000 for a four week demonstration and evaluation project and was funded by a combination of City of Orlando, Orange County, Smart Growth America and a federal transportation funds.
How much is a human life worth? We’ve had four fatalities (and how many additional injuries) this year alone. Inaction can’t be an option…
I have been so sad today since learning of the deaths and injuries of these young ladies, including that baby. All of pensacola mourns along with the families of the victims. I hope we find the driver soon. Melanie this is on point! How quickly can the city get a digital speed radar sign that shows your speed and blinks when you are over the limit? Do we own these already and if so, get them along West Cervantes today! This was avoidable and totally irresponsible of our local government to ignore the danger for so long. Lip service to real issues that affect our lives in a signifant way, and pie-in-the-sky projects being pushed forward to benefit the wallets of our elected officials, have gone on for too long.
I’m so sick of the Mayor and Council acting like they can’t do anything about all these accidents and deaths on Cervantes Street when they could hire more Police Officers and get more patrols on our major arterials where these accidents and deaths are occurring. There are power poles lining Cervantes Street where they could add additional lighting. Paint is cheap, they could paint crosswalks in visible paint and add crosswalk signage letting drivers know that “PEOPLE LIVE HERE….SLOW DOWN”, but the biggest deterrent to speeding is TICKETS until they can get D.O.T to shrink down the lanes so people don’t feel like they are on a highway. FDOT has engineered a 60 mph capable highway that was supposed to be a 35 mph city street. The lanes are as wide as the Interstate which makes drivers more comfortable going great speeds…..and they can’t react quick enough at great speeds to a pedestrian crossing the street or a bicyclist trying to share the road. The City doesn’t blink at finding money for fluff projects for the Mayor, but when it comes to funding for critical needs of the City, they tell us they are broke and we have to wait for years. Get to work TODAY. Don’t know how? Attend a CiviCon workshop where they’ve been trying to show you simple solutions that won’t break the bank that you can do RIGHT NOW to improve the lives of all citizens TODAY. Stop waiting on D.O.T. to solve it and get to work. Start writing tickets and make Cervantes Street a no-speed zone/no drunk/no distracted driving zone. Every single time I drive through Gulf Breeze I see someone pulled over on Highway 98. I travel Cervantes Street every single day and have never in 25 years seen anyone being given a ticket. Four deaths in six months….what are you waiting on City Hall? Get to work now.