MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Annie Thomas, lives less than a mile from the deadly crash on Warfield Boulevard and told WPTV she saw the trauma hawk responding to the scene.
“We knew it had to have been something really bad, because they were out there and the road was closed for quite a long time,” said Thomas.
Drivers express concerns after latest crash on Warfield Boulevard
Thomas told me that it’s another crash on a long list of crashes that plagues the stretch of roadway from Okeechobee to Indiantown.
“It's happening almost daily,” said Thomas.
Thomas works as a school teacher at Warfield Elementary and said she’s scared every morning, when turning on to the road.
“We don’t feel safe,” said Thomas. “I'll sit until I see no lights and then I'll turn, it's that bad. It'll make me late to work sometimes, because I will just sit there and wait."
In the beginning of February — I reported on three crashes in just a 10 day span. Drivers then told me they wanted changes.
On Monday, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said his deputies were conducting speed enforcement on Saturday night on Warfield Boulevard before the deadly crash occurred and have increased patrol of the roadway.
“We've got to educate the public,” said Budensiek. “Driving down that road, it's extremely dangerous.”
Neighbors told WPTV they’re concerned about the speed limit on Warfield Boulevard—which is 60 mph.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek shares more about crash on Warfield Boulevard
Taylor Cantin lives just a mile from the crash site and said the road is too narrow for the growing population in western Martin County—and should be widened for more lanes.
“The population is only going to get higher in the area, and that's going to lead to more and more cars, more and more accidents, because the trucks aren't going anywhere,” said Cantin. “Farm equipment is not going anywhere. Grain trucks aren't going anywhere.”
FDOT told WPTV it has made safety improvements along State Road 710 over the last two years. However, a department spokesperson said the work isn’t over.
They’re continuing to make improvements at the intersection of Tommy Clements Road, and adding a southbound turn lane.
FDOT is also designing wider roadways along the section of Southeast 126th Avenue to Southwest Van Buren Avenue.
The department told WPTV they funded construction to widen the roadway from Southwest 126th Avenue to the Okeechobee/Martin County line, and from Allapattah Road to Southwest Van Buren Avenue.
FDOT said they received funding to realign the SR-710 and CR-714 intersection in 2030.
In a statement, a spokesperson wrote the following:
“Obtaining funding to construct the widening of SR 710 is one of the Department’s priorities.”
