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SPRING HILL — Derek Kruis has months of recovery time ahead of him, but his unfortunate run-in with a van on Landover Boulevard will likely leave a lasting impact in the neighborhood.
Plans are in the works to add traffic safety features along the stretch of Landover where the 14-year-old eighth-grader was hit on the morning of Feb. 2 while making his way to Explorer K-8 School.
The Hernando school district is hoping for crosswalks and signs at Landover and Tillery Road, said Barry Crowley, the district's coordinator of safety and security. Crowley met last week with a county engineering staffer and a Sheriff's Office representative to discuss ideas.
The district would also like to see crosswalks and signs at the next cross street to the north, Sandlor Street, and to the south, Chalmer Street, Crowley said. The signs remind motorists that they are required by law to stop for pedestrians waiting to cross.
Because Landover is a county road, however, it's up to the county to devise a plan for the improvements. That plan should be ready in the next few weeks, according to an email to Crowley sent by Gerald O'Dell, the county's traffic engineering coordinator
Messages left for O'Dell and county engineer Brian Malmberg were not returned Tuesday.
The school district has offered to cover the roughly $450 cost of the signs to expedite their installation, with hopes that flashing lights can be added later, Crowley said.
"We wanted to put something in right now, even if it's temporary," he said.
A county study after the accident found that students cross Landover at several places to get to Explorer, Crowley said. Ideally, students would cross at Northcliffe Boulevard, where there is a crossing guard, but many won't do that because it's so far out of the way for them.
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