Parents, students advocate for pedestrian safety following death of FSU student

Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat
·3 min read
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Florida State University students use the crosswalk at the intersection of Pensacola and Lorene Streets where sophomore Ellie Sims was struck and killed by a driver just earlier in the week, Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Florida State University students use the crosswalk at the intersection of Pensacola and Lorene Streets where sophomore Ellie Sims was struck and killed by a driver just earlier in the week, Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

Florida State University's campus is quieter during the summer months, but the message from the hit-and-run death that shocked the university's community nearly two months ago is still ringing loud and clear: Students need safer streets.

Following the tragic accident that killed FSU sophomore Ellie Sims, the community rallied for change — and the city of Tallahassee and university appear to be delivering. But just to be sure plans will actually come to fruition, parents and FSU students will be attending the city commission's meeting Wednesday afternoon to re-emphasize the importance of improvement.

"I was surprised and heartened at how quickly it sounds like (the city) worked with FSU to put some plans in place," said Stacey Butler, a Tallahassee local and parent of a FSU student. "We're going to do what we can to hold their feet to the fire."

City engineers have been surveying the Pensacola Street and St. Augustine Road corridors near the university's campus over the last few weeks to develop a "holistic plan" that includes speed limit reductions, new pedestrian infrastructure, enhanced signage and construction of speed tables and raised intersections, said Assistant City Manager Karen Jumonville.

The City of Tallahassee is implementing enhanced traffic safety measures along the Pensacola Street and St. Augustine Road corridors near Florida State University’s campus.
The City of Tallahassee is implementing enhanced traffic safety measures along the Pensacola Street and St. Augustine Road corridors near Florida State University’s campus.

Installation of the improvements is scheduled to begin June 24 and be completed by August 15, just in time for the start of FSU's fall semester, Jumonville said. Once the semester begins, she said the university intends to launch an educational campaign to enhance students' awareness.

"We're always looking for ways we can enhance pedestrian safety in the community," she said. "I think this plan is a good example of these efforts."

But Butler said she's worried that studying the traffic and pedestrian patterns following the accident won't provide engineers with an accurate representation of the dire situation at hand. The summertime has "nowhere near" the same capacity of students that are present in the fall and spring, she said.

The 20-year-old was hit and killed April 29 during the institution's finals week in the crosswalk near the intersection of Lorene and Pensacola streets. Shortly after the accident, 18-year-old Willis Trueblood Jr. was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death.

It wasn't long before a petition was made advocating for a stoplight at the intersection where Sims was hit, and it garnered 25,000 signatures.

Over four years ago, a similar petition was successful in getting new traffic lights and crosswalks installed on West Tennessee Street after a 19-year-old FSU student was hit and killed Feb. 2020.

Butler hopes all the efforts following Sims death will accomplish just as much.

"Right at the time we were getting our daughter packed up and prepared to come home for summer, I was just thinking how devastating for Ellie's family," Butler said. "They were planning a memorial."

Butler's daughter became friends with Sims by being in the same pledge class of FSU's Beta Eta Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. Her daughter will be moving off campus to CollegeTown at the start of the new school year, and she wants to have peace of mind that her child will be safe.

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The mother-daughter duo created a memorial at the intersection where Sims was hit, and Butler said she "could see how accidents could happen there." Some kids wouldn't even press the crosswalk light and the speed limit there is "ridiculous," she said.

The CollegeTown area has exploded within the last few years, she said, and the city needs to keep up with the population growth to ensure students' safety. Change needs to come now before any more parents receive the same devastating news.

"You send your kids off to school and expect them to be safe and come home," Butler said. "And they didn't have that experience."

Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU parents, students seek safety improvements after Ellie Sims' death