On Thursday, students and staff at Nease High School went back to school for the first time since a new traffic light was put in nearby.
As Action News Jax has been telling you, three students were injured in crashes at the intersection of Ray Road and U.S. 1 during the last school year.
As Action News Jax has been telling you, three students were injured in crashes at the intersection of Ray Road and U.S. 1 during the last school year.
Many Nease High School students could summarize the back-to-school traffic Thursday in one word.
"It's frustrating," Nease Senior Ana Momic said.
#Backtoschool: New traffic light installed near Nease HS after 3 students were injured in 2 crashes. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/A4TTKfuFeO
— Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) August 10, 2017
Gridlock in the intersection meant there was nowhere to go.
“I’m pretty unhappy about this,” said student Robert Harris. “Should be at school at 9:15. It's 9:15, and now I'm late.”
“I’m pretty unhappy about this,” said student Robert Harris. “Should be at school at 9:15. It's 9:15, and now I'm late.”
Better to be late than unsafe. Big backups at the intersection near Nease HS on the first day #BacktoSchool. New light put in after crashes. pic.twitter.com/FVlVlHAMdK
— Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) August 10, 2017
Everyone agreed, it's better to be late than unsafe.
As Action News Jax told you in November, Mackenzie Felmet and her younger sister, Sydney, were critically injured when their car was T-boned at the intersection.
Thankfully, nine months later, both are OK.
This week, Mackenzie spoke exclusively with Action News Jax for the first time since the crash.
“I thank God every day that I'm here and I have a future to look up to, and I have so much left of my life left to live,” Felmet said.
Just weeks after that crash, 17-year-old Kristian Mensching suffered a broken leg when he was he was hit while skateboarding through the intersection.
“I thank God every day that I'm here and I have a future to look up to, and I have so much left of my life left to live,” Felmet said.
Just weeks after that crash, 17-year-old Kristian Mensching suffered a broken leg when he was he was hit while skateboarding through the intersection.
The parent of Nease High School students are happy to have the light.
"They put that second lane there as well, which is something that was really, really needed, and you can tell it's really marked out," said parent Geoff Grider. "That should go a long way to fixing things."
Amy Eshbaugh's family just moved to the area. Her daughter is a junior at Nease.
“(The light is) great for the kids,” Eshbaugh said. “It's great for the parents to know that their children will be safer with that light.”
“(The light is) great for the kids,” Eshbaugh said. “It's great for the parents to know that their children will be safer with that light.”
Cox Media Group
