DELTONA, Fla. — In this week's Traffic Inbox, we spoke with Saasha Williams, a longtime Volusia County resident who knew the family of a student killed in a crash last week in Deltona in front of Pine Ridge High School.

"This should be a wake-up call, because parents like myself have always been concerned that something would happen here given the speed every morning," Williams said.

Since the 1980s, when Williams moved to the area, "traffic has tripled or quadrupled," she said.

She, along with others in the community, were heartbroken last Monday when a three-vehicle crash took the life of a student trying to turn in front of oncoming traffic into Pine Ridge High School.

Williams said she's not surprised that the tragedy happened. She describes a typical morning along Howland Boulevard as "chaotic."

"The traffic is horrible," Williams said. "There is a lot of people who walk, so there is a lot of kids walking in the street. They don't really yield or do what the pedestrian is supposed to do, (like) stop, turn your head both ways, and cross the street. They are in a hurry to get to school. So most of them are just running across the street instead of waiting for this light."

Williams said making that stretch of Howland Boulevard a school zone, with decreased speeds and flashing lights, is the answer.

But who makes that call?

Volusia's traffic engineering division told us that the decision would be the county's to make that section of Howland Boulevard a school zone.

It added that "the function of a reduced speed school zone is to assist students crossing the road. Since the road was widened to four lanes with (a) divided median, it was deemed safer to cross all students at the traffic signal where they would be protected better with a pedestrian signal."

There are also pavement markings in the ground that say "school," and there are school-crossing signs prior to the intersection and school crossing signs at the intersection.

Traffic engineering added that the Florida Department of Transportation had traditionally said high schools do not qualify for reduced school speed zones. But now, local jurisdictions can look at reduced school speed zones at high schools on a case-by-case basis.

For right now, however, the county has decided to make the flashing-yellow-arrow turn going into the student parking area at Pine Ridge High a "protective turn" only during school arrival and dismissal times, meaning drivers can only turn on a green arrow.

During less busy times, the light will go back to a flashing yellow.

The county saida similar decision has been duplicated at another Central Florida school by FDOT, and its current decision was given approval by the Volusia School Board.

As for Williams, although she understands the county's decision, she does not agree with it.

"I think it's ridiculous. It's a waste of time. This area needs to be a school zone," she said.

Traffic engineering noted that it will review the crash report from last week when it becomes available to determine whether any additional factors contributed to the fatal crash that would prompt future change.

Although fault in the fatal crash has not been officially released, it should be noted that the 15-year-old driver was driving alone, which is against the law, and investigators determined he was not wearing a seat belt.

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