ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A student at Fruit Cove Middle School was hit by a car Wednesday morning near the school, according to a spokesperson for the St. Johns County School District.
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Deputies said the girl was airlifted to a local hospital for treatment. They did not have an update on her condition.
St. Johns County Fire Rescue said the girl was on a bicycle near Racetrack Road when she was hit and critically injured.
The district spokesperson said students who were on a bus going to the school saw the girl being hit.
A woman who has lived in the area for the last 22 years said she wasn’t shocked about the incident.
“I’m not surprised, it’s getting to be a very busy road,” Shari Haber said. “...I’m saddened it happened and it’s unfortunate and it would be nice if we could all take a pause.”
She talked about all the changes she’s noticed in St. Johns County so far.
“Just the business, the traffic, all the roads,” Haber said. “You used to have lovely tree-lined roads, two-lane roads everywhere back here now they’re all like four lanes minimum and the traffic. I used to live in Atlanta, and the traffic, it’s like oh my gosh are we getting to be like Atlanta in a way.”
Another resident said the said the traffic is getting worse.
“I think the community is getting increasingly huge and the traffic now...if it takes 15 minutes to get somewhere it takes 30,” Abbie Swain said. “You never know how long it’s going to take to get somewhere, and I think that it’s honestly kind of ridiculous.”
Haber said she wants to see better road structure.
“Maybe some better alternative routes, maybe build bigger roads outside of where the school areas are,” Haber said.
Swain said that more stop lights and stop signs should be added in St. Johns County.
The girl’s name and age have not been released.