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VDOT to conduct safety review at intersection where 13-year-old student was killed

Parents in Prince Willam County are demanding officials build a pedestrian bridge at the intersection.

HAYMARKET, Va. — Officials with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) say they will conduct a safety review at an intersection in Haymarket following the death of a 13-year-old middle school student. 

The review of James Madison Highway or Route 15 and Graduation Drive will take place once the police investigation is completed, according to a VDOT spokesperson. 

The victim, a Ronald Reagan Middle School student, was hit when the driver of a 2019 Honda Odyssey was traveling northbound on James Madison Highway near the intersection before 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Prince William County Police said the driver was crossing a green light when the vehicle hit the child while crossing the road. 

"We are heartbroken at the news that a child was killed crossing Route 15," a VDOT spokesperson said. "Our thoughts are with the family during this very difficult time."

VDOT is in contact with county officials to support local initiatives, projects and infrastructure to improve pedestrian safety. This is the second death in less than a year with another 13-year-old student being hit and killed at the same intersection in January.

Parents in the neighboring Dominion Valley Country Club community have expressed concerns for their kids who would cross the intersection to attend Battlefield High School, which is just past the traffic light. Parent Renee Brennan helped formally create the group Coalition for Route 15 Passage. She said she has been pleading for county and state officials to make major safety improvements and worries someone else will die if changes are not made. 

"We simply want safe passage for our students to be educated to go to school," Brennan said. "We either want a bridge or a tunnel so no children need to be in this dangerous intersection."

An online petition, with 2,600 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon, is supporting the effort to build a pedestrian bridge. 

Gainesville District Supervisor Pete Candland confirmed the community has been trying to get a pedestrian bridge for years with no success. He hopes the recent death will be the right push.

Brennan said a crosswalk was painted for visibility in 2018, but parents argue that is not enough. 

"This to me is a Band-Aid or a fix, but what we really need is for our children not to be on this highway to go to school at dark in the morning or even after school," she said.

Candland released a statement urging the community not to "give up on that fight."

"Last night, I joined Chair Wheeler and my colleagues as we directed our country staff to work with VDOT and find a way to make the pedestrian bridge happen," Candland said in his statement. "Make no mistake, this will be a challenge as we fight through the red tape of VDOT, but it is my hope that with a unified Board of County Supervisors and a unified community, we can make this bridge a reality and protect the children of Prince William County."

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