JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Concerns are growing for Arlington neighbors about an area they say is dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians.
A three-vehicle crash in that very spot resulted in life-threatening injuries for a toddler and put two adults in critical condition Wednesday morning.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says a minivan heading southbound veered off, hitting a vehicle driving northbound head-on. Those two cars spun, hitting a third northbound vehicle.
Juel Thomas lives with her grandchildren just down the road from Cesery Blvd. and Columbine Dr.
“There are cars that come around these curves so fast that it will make your head spin,” Thomas said. “It’s terrifying.”
She said this curved road is dangerous, so she wasn’t surprised, but she was horrified to find out one of the passengers was under five years old.
So afraid of what she describes as 'out of control drivers', Thomas pulled her grandchildren from Duval Schools’ Arlington Heights Elementary and enrolled them in a charter school.
The district has a policy that students who live less than 1.5 miles from their school must walk. Thomas’s family is just .3 miles shy of meeting that criteria.
Thomas said district leaders should re-consider making kids walk to school in areas like this one.
“I’ve walked in storms,” Thomas said. “I’ve walked in extreme heat. 1.5 miles in the zone, you can walk. It’s not even necessarily the distance. That’s fine. It’s the condition of the walk that I’m complaining about.”
Either way, Thomas believes the city needs to address the dangerous road.
“Let’s get this road under control here,” Thomas said, “and let’s get some buses for these kids that live in dangerous zone that’s walking to school. Whether it’s 1.2 miles, 1.5. I don’t care. They need to be safe.”
JSO says it’s not clear why the minivan’s driver veered off but it’s under investigation. The drivers and toddler involved in that crash are in the hospital.
A spokesperson for Duval County Schools told First Coast News:
“While we believe the quality of the educational experience in our schools generally makes traditional schools the best choice, we can certainly understand parents taking traffic safety into consideration. We are disappointed to hear that we may be losing these students, but we completely respect this parent for making a decision that is in the best interest of her children. We hope we have the opportunity to serve this family again in the future.”