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Originally Posted by ncic50
At approximately 6:34 PM, Oct. 19th, a 69 yr old Villages Resident was struck and killed by a motor vehicle while walking on Piney Woods Path at Valleybrook Way in the Village of Dunedin. The victim died from his injuries. Even though not clearly posted, this area as per Section 17-5 has a 20 mph speed limit.
We recently moved back to The Village of Osceola Hills in TV. Our house is on Deskin Lane which has a designated (but NOT posted) 20 mph speed limit. While out walking on Deskin Lane, cars and trucks zoom past us going 30 mph and more. Like almost all of TV streets there are NO posted 20 mph speed signs here.
On Sept. 9th, I telephoned the Sumter County Public Works to inquire about having 20 mph speed signs posted on Deskin Lane. The County Commissioner stated that he would look into it. In a very short time I received a call from a Sumter County Sheriff's Supervisor. The SCSO Supervisor was receptive to my concerns, conducted himself in a highly professional manner and is a great ambassador for the SCSO. SCSO placed a Mobile Electronic Speed Monitor on Deskin Lane near St. Stephen Street. Most motorist slowed down when seeing the device but others just flew by repeatedly at 25-35 mph. After about 3 weeks the sign was relocated to another street in TV.
Unfortunately the SCSO is understaffed and under paid so the likelihood of the SCSO doing more traffic enforcement does not appear to be happening in the near future. We residents of The Villages collectively pay a lot of money in taxes and unfortunately more people will die in TV from motor vehicle vs motor vehicle and motor vehicle vs pedestrian accidents. SLOW DOWN people. We need more SCSO's on the streets.
Like most noteworthy news articles the 2 1/2" long article regarding Tuesday's fatal accident was buried in Section C, Page 4 of The Villages Daily Sun. Instead of hiding news worthy items like this, which is a disservice to Villages Residents; stories like the fatal accident should be on the front page of the paper. We deserve better!
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We read another account of the incident which stated the victim stepped into the path of the vehicle. Even at the speed limit, it may well have been unavoidable. 🙏