ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A recent crash has some parents in St. Johns County neighborhood worried about their students' safety.
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office shared images of yet another crash along 9b, with an overturned tanker.
After spending hours cleaning it up, the road was re-opened, but the images certainly stuck with County Commissioner Henry Dean.
"We need to move ahead as quickly as possible because I think all of us on the county commissioner agree public safety, particularly with children, is our top priority," said Dean.
The crash happened as kids walked and road bikes from the St. Johns Forest neighborhood to Liberty Pines Academy.
Fortunately, the crash didn't impact the sidewalk, but it was well within view of the students.
Parents are calling on the school district to start sending buses back to the neighborhood, despite the fact it is less than two miles from LPA.
In 2021, St. Johns County Schools worked alongside FDOT and the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office to conduct a study on the sidewalk's safety.
It found 55 crashes reported in the area over a three-year period, however, only five were next to the sidewalk, and only one encroached on the sidewalk.
The study concluded the area did not qualify as a hazardous walking surface to require buses.
Still, the high number of crashes and recurring damage to the pedestrian bridge has the county commission and FDOT working to make it a safer walk.
"My hope is we'll have the sidewalk completed by next fall when the children go back to school," said Dean.
Right near that intersection, a pedestrian bridge that crosses over St. Johns Parkway was struck multiple times within a few months.
The county and FDOT just finished repairing it, so has now re-opened.