Sugar Mill parents start petition addressing school safety issues following fatal accident

PORT ORANGE — After a fourth-grade student was struck and killed by a vehicle outside of Sugar Mill Elementary Friday morning, two community members Tuesday served as unofficial crossing guards at the intersection where the accident occurred.

ShaoLan Kamaly, 10, was hit by a vehicle exiting the school at about 7:10 a.m., police said.

The "distraught" driver remained at the scene and was cooperating with police, but has not yet been named or charged, according to Port Orange police. An investigation is ongoing.

One of the volunteer crossing guards was a close family friend of victim's father. The other was a parent at the school. They said they plan to show up in the morning and afternoon to help direct traffic until the school year ends Friday.

In addition to the two volunteers, who wished to remain anonymous, two official crossing guards guided traffic at intersections near the school. One was located at Charles Street and McDonald Road, while the other was stationed at Madeline Avenue and Sauls Street. Community members confirmed there have been crossing guards at both intersections throughout the entire school year.

However, parents said crossing guards have not supervised the intersection where the accident occurred since 2020.

The Volusia Sheriff's Office has a committee, which includes school district members, that decides the locations of crossing guards, Volusia County Schools Spokeswoman Danielle Johnson said.

Sugar Mill parents discuss student safety

Jalycia Skuro is a mom of two current Sugar Mill Elementary students. She drops them off by car in the morning, and after school, they all walk home together.

With the exception of those who take the bus, all Sugar Mill students enter and exit campus using the same intersection and carpool circle, parents confirmed.

Skuro believes that a police officer or a crossing guard should be at that intersection everyday, just as they are at intersections down the street.

“My oldest daughter is 15 and went to school here from kindergarten to fifth (grade), and the entire time she was here, there was always a police officer directing traffic and helping them cross at this intersection,” Skuro said. “COVID came in 2020, and they never came back.”

She noted that when her current fourth-grade son was in kindergarten, there was somebody there; however, “for the past four years, there’s been nobody,” she said.

It is unclear why that intersection is no longer manned.

Skuro described Friday’s accident as “horrific,” a “tragedy” and “completely unnecessary.”

“It sickens me because I know that it could have been prevented,” she said.

Claudia Counts has a daughter in kindergarten at Sugar Mill Elementary. She was happy to see the unofficial crossing guards Tuesday, as traffic around the campus can get “pretty busy” in the mornings and evenings, she said.

While Counts said she never expected this to happen, she said she did feel somewhat “nervous” and “protective” while walking with her daughter.

Counts said the city, the school board and drivers around the school all played a role in Friday’s accident.

“It’s the people that can get things done that should actually do something, you know, because this should have never happened,” she said.

Superintendent plans to evaluate Sugar Mill pickups, drop-offs

Anita Burnette was the only board member to speak on Friday's accident at Tuesday's board meeting. Board member Carl Persis did not attend the meeting.

“We've also been overshadowed with a tragic loss, and I don't want people to forget about that,” Burnette said as part of her opening board member comments. “So if we can just keep our Sugar Mill family in our thoughts and prayers, I'm sure they would appreciate that.”

Superintendent Carmen Balgobin echoed Burnette, saying, “On behalf of this board here and our entire staff, our prayers and condolences really goes out to the Sugar Mill families, staff and the entire community. We are with you in thoughts and prayers, so please know that.”

As part of her closing comments, Burnette also asked that Volusia County Schools be "aggressive" in "meeting with the other municipalities in the county" to "see what we can do to help our children."

Balgobin responded saying that she plans to have a meeting with her team, the Port Orange Police Department and Sugar Mill's parents, faculty and staff once the investigation is concluded to "really evaluate" how drop-offs and pickups will look like at Sugar Mill.

Through this meeting, Balgobin plans to "look at it in its totality and see what are some additional measures that, in a combined way, through this partnership, we can work on implementing there at Sugar Mill."

"I wish we could do that much earlier," Balgobin said. "But again, we all know this, that when an investigation is under its way, you cannot get involved at that point in time to have discussions or anything of that sort."

Parents share recommendations with Volusia County School Board

At Tuesday's board meeting, Rae Hill, a Sugar Mill parent, addressed the board, speaking on behalf of herself as well as other parents, teachers, staff and surrounding residents of the elementary school, as well as other local elementary schools.

Hill said she has "personally made it my mission to help prevail in making the necessary changes it's going to take to keep our children safe."

Hill said that she and a friend started a petition Friday requesting that a police officer be required to direct traffic at all elementary schools in Volusia County.

Additionally, the petition requests speed humps, flashing crosswalk signs, in-street crosswalk signs, raised crosswalks and tables before the crosswalks in school zones.

"We are also requesting that the safety and paramount of keeping our children safe be presented to the entire county, and not just the people that are going through these school zones every day," she said before the board. "There are traffic issues in the school zones all the time that are not being addressed, and we would like to see changes."

As of Wednesday morning, the petition had more than 2,600 signatures.

Stephanie Cathey is Sugar Mill's Parent Teacher Association president and the mom of a first-grader who was hit by a car at a since "retired" school crosswalk entrance almost two years ago.

Cathey said 531 days after her son was hit, delineators were installed at the crosswalk where that accident occurred.

"If I hadn't pushed, it would still be open during this time," she said.

"The first concern should have been the last concern," she continued.

Cathey told the board she has previously vocalized concerns about the crosswalk at the school's entrance, where Friday's accident occurred.

"Kids traveling west on the sidewalk are forced to travel across the entrance and get into the school," she told the board. "This is where cars are pulling in and out, often rushing to drop off their kids at parent pickup."

She asked the board why an officer that used to control traffic at that location has since been removed and what it was doing to communicate with city officials to keep students safe.

"This child's death was preventable," Cathey said. "You knew. The city knew. The county knew. Everyone knew it was dangerous. These are the results of inaction by elected officials across the board."

ShaoLan's father, Keivan Kamaly, created a GoFundMe page to help with a memorial and legal fees as he plans to seek justice in his daughter's name "and for those before her who have also been hurt at this school," the page states.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Sugar Mill student's death was preventable, parents say