The Florida Department of Transportation is planning safety improvements for an area where a teenager was hit and killed by a SunRail train on Friday.

People who live in the area frequently cross the train tracks where the deadly crash happened, according to others who live in the area.

Gary Mathews said he's safe to see a life ended so early.

"Thirteen years old. He just started living his life as a teenager," said Mathews, who lives in Sanford. "I'm sad for him."

Mathews stopped by the spot where Marcees Kilpatrick was killed.

"I came over to give my blessings to him," he said.

Investigators said the teenager was trying to cross the tracks with his bike Friday when the SunRail train struck him. Police said they don't suspect anything suspicious.

Kilpatrick might have gotten winded from dragging his bike up the steep incline leading up to the tracks and just couldn't make it over the tracks in time, police said.

"He might have just been afraid or underestimated the distance of the train," Mathews said.

Transportation officials said they are in the process of installing no-trespassing signs in the area and have plans to install fencing to discourage people from crossing the tracks.

It's unclear whether that will stop people from using what’s been a popular cut-through for years. Several people were still cross the tracks Monday night — many of them on bicycles.

"I attended the Crooms school back in the '60s, and we used to cross here going back and forth from our house to the school," Mathews said.

Mathews crossed the tracks Monday night to visit his mother. He said no one previously was hurt until Friday.

"We crossed here every day," he said. "Every morning, and we never had a problem with the train or the train with us."