TAMPA, Fla. – A Tampa city council member says he is working to get more traffic improvements along Fowler Avenue near the University of South Florida after a 15-year-old boy was killed while trying to cross the road in early December.
Tampa police say Andre Moore Jr. was crossing Fowler Avenue when he was hit twice by two westbound cars. He was taken to an area hospital where he died from his injuries. Both vehicles had green lights, according to police.
City council member Luis Viera said he met with the Florida Department of Transportation in wake of the fatal crash to see what improvements could be made to what he called a dangerous road.
FDOT spokesperson Kris Carson said possible improvements are already in the works, with the agency looking to see where more pedestrian and bicycle crossings can be added.
Carson also said FDOT is giving the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office $50,000 each for speed enforcement along Busch Boulevard, Hillsborough and Fowler Avenue.
Police spokesperson Steve Hegarty said since August 2016, there have been six pedestrian and motorcyclist deaths along Fowler Avenue between Nebraska Avenue and 30th Street. It’s a number Viera says would likely draw more attention if it were in more affluent parts of town. He also said it’s important for city, county and state agencies to work together for improvements.
"When we fight for things like safety on Fowler Avenue, economic development in the area, looking at lower speed limits for design along Busch Boulevard and the surrounding North Tampa area, that's certainly something responsive to a crisis that this (Moore’s) mother, the late Andre Moore Jr. and others lived with every single day, and we've got to work to mitigate those effects right here, right now,” he said.
Tampa police also said in 2018, nearly 70 warnings or citations were given along Fowler Avenue near the site of Moore’s death.
Emerald Morrow is a reporter with 10News WTSP. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@wtsp.com.
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