RICHMOND, Va. – Parents tell CBS 6 Problem Solvers that drivers speeding on the roads around a Richmond elementary school are putting children lives in danger.
One of those parents is Cole Bucholtz.
He is convinced, if you hang around Semmes Avenue near Patrick Henry Charter School long enough, you’ll spot speeders zooming to their destinations, with little to no regard for the school zone.
He recalled a harrowing experience last week when there was no crossing guard to slow traffic. He saw two frightened students stuck in the median holding hands.
“They were just looking at me. Like deer in headlights and staring like, what do we do? I’m literally seeing cars going through this fast at 8:00 in the morning and this far from 5-year-old children’s faces, said Bucholtz, spreading his hands about a foot apart.
Cole Bucholtz
Bucholtz says he had to walk out to the middle of the street, stop traffic, and escort the students across the street.
After the incident, Bucholtz called Richmond Police.
The next day, there were two crossing guards out helping students.
But Bucholtz says he doesn’t want it to stop there as he knowns Richmond Police has been addressing speeding complaints.
RPD officials confirmed that in the past few weeks, their motorcycle officers issued 15 speeding tickets near Semmes and Forrest Hill; 14 were for reckless driving which is 20 miles over the speed limit.
“So that’s over 50 down this residential road,” Bucholtz explained.
The father says he will never forget how he and his daughter watched a kid get hit a few years ago when a speeder clipped his bike.
He also remembers a crossing guard being hit about four years ago.
“Residents have to put out printed signs that say, ‘Please Slow Down.’ I see the signs that say ‘Drive Like Your Kids Live Here.’ It has turned into drive like you are not a jerk… Just care. That’s all it is,” Bucholtz said.
Buchholz believes more safety measures should be put in place and hopes the message will reach the top of the chain at City Hall.
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