Pasco mom fights for legislative changes after daughter gets hit by car biking to school

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (WFLA) — A new law went into effect Tuesday aimed at giving children in Florida a safer walk to school.

Cherie Reinhart is now 12 years old. On Monday, her mom, Jennifer Reznick, bought her a new bike.

For some, this is a fun new adventure but for Cherie, it was a big step.

This will be the first time she gets back on a bike since being hit while riding her bicycle to school when she was 11 back in September.

“She was on her way to school, she was in a crosswalk, she stopped, and she still ended up being hit by a car,” Reznick explained.

How does this pertain to state law? Under current law, students who live within two miles from their school must either walk, get a ride, or bike, unless there are hazardous walking conditions.

Florida statute defines those conditions with a few specific qualifications.

House Bill 85, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, expanded those.

“This bill basically adds the words, ‘limited access facility,’ which is basically the freeway and freeway ramp, to that list of hazardous walking conditions,” said State Sen. Kim Kendall.

Reznick is now fighting for another step forward.

“Please change the definition of a student,” she said. “‘Change the definition of a student from ‘elementary’ to ‘K-12’.”

“That’s what our ask was, include all of these kids so that it doesn’t matter — middle, high school — if your route to school was unsafe, you get a bus,” Reznick continued.

News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers asked, “If legislators could hear you today, what would you want them to hear from you?”

“Let’s try again,” she said.

State Rep. and former Hillsborough County School Board member Susan Valdes said she wants to go even further.

“If we want to fix it for all children in the state of Florida, let’s get rid of that two-mile rule, and let’s fund it,” she said. “Period.”

Reznick has since switched her daughter to a private school that accommodates her hours, so she’s able to drive her to and from school.

As for House Bill 85, it officially went into effect Tuesday.