\u2018My heart felt full\u2019: Mother of Ed White senior killed in hit-and-run accepts daughter\u2019s diploma<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t want no parent to go through what I\u2019ve had to go through this past year and a half, so I don\u2019t want anybody to have to go through this pain,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
From heartbreak to new beginnings<\/p>\n
What started as heartbreak is now the beginning of something bigger.<\/p>\n
The traffic garden at Ed White High School features real-life scenarios designed to teach students the rules of the road \u2014 from obeying traffic signals and traffic lights to stopping at stop signs. The hands-on space gives students a chance to practice navigating everyday traffic situations before they ever get behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
The project was built through a partnership between Blue Zones Project Jacksonville, Duval County Public Schools and the City of Jacksonville Planning Department. Ed White High School was selected in part because the surrounding area has experienced a high number of traffic crashes.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville\u2019s traffic safety crisis<\/p>\n
The need for programs like this one is urgent. According to the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office, more than 100 people have died in traffic accidents in Jacksonville in 2025 alone.<\/p>\n
The traffic garden is part of the Jacksonville Vision Zero Action Plan, a citywide initiative aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities. Its implementation at Ed White is a direct response to the danger students and community members face on local roads every day.<\/p>\n
For the Williams family, the garden is more than a safety tool \u2014 it\u2019s a living tribute to Alaysha and a reminder that her life continues to matter.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 A Jacksonville high school is turning tragedy into a mission to save lives. Community…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[98087,98086,116,118,117,729],"class_list":["post-215017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-alaysha-williams","tag-edward-white-highschool","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-traffic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}