{"id":423347,"date":"2026-10-09T14:42:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/423347\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T14:42:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:42:44","slug":"its-not-safe-treasure-coast-neighbors-raise-concerns-after-teen-hit-walking-to-school-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/423347\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s not safe’: Treasure Coast neighbors raise concerns after teen hit walking to school"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A 14-year-old Treasure Coast High School student remains in critical condition after police say he was struck by an SUV while walking to school <\/a>along a construction zone in Port St. Lucie.<\/p>\n

According to Port St. Lucie Police, the crash happened around 6 a.m. Wednesday on Southwest Port St. Lucie Boulevard near Squirrel Avenue.<\/p>\n

Investigators say the freshman was walking along the roadway, which does not have sidewalks, when a 72-year-old driver hit him from behind with an SUV. The area is currently under construction as crews work to widen a portion of Port St. Lucie Boulevard.<\/p>\n

Police say the driver initially believed he had struck a construction barrel. After turning around and returning to the scene, officers say he found the teen unconscious on the side of the road and called 911.<\/p>\n

Neighbors who live near the crash site say the lack of sidewalks has long been a concern, especially for students who walk or bike to school.<\/p>\n

“It’s not safe to walk around here,” said neighbor Kendry Portal. “We need those sidewalks.”<\/p>\n

Neighbors told CBS12 News they have seen multiple crashes involving pedestrians along the busy stretch of road since construction began a few years ago.<\/p>\n

See also: Jury convicts former Fort Pierce city manager Nick Mimms of official misconduct<\/a><\/p>\n

The Florida Department of Transportation is widening the southern portion of Port St. Lucie Boulevard<\/a> into a four-lane road and adding sidewalks as part of the ongoing project. Neighbors say the safety improvements cannot come soon enough.<\/p>\n

“I want to see this street finished as soon as possible,” Portal said.<\/p>\n

Police do not believe the driver was impaired, and it remains unclear whether any charges will be filed.<\/p>\n

Authorities are asking anyone with dashcam or surveillance video from the area around the time of the crash to contact Port St. Lucie Police.<\/p>\n

As of Thursday morning, the 14-year-old remains hospitalized in critical condition.<\/p>\n

“I just hope that he gets well soon and hope for the family in this situation,” said Portal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A 14-year-old Treasure Coast High School student remains in critical condition after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-423347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423347","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=423347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}