JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville city councilman representing the part of town where a father and his son were tragically killed while crossing Baymeadows Road says he’s “committed to making sure something like this doesn’t happen again.” 

Mitchell Patch and his toddler-aged son were hit and killed while crossing the road in front of Wicked Barley, a brewery on Baymeadows Road, a few blocks east of San Jose Boulevard. 

Councilman Joe Carlucci said his “ultimate goal is to have an impactful improvement along this roadway as soon as possible.” In his opinion, he said, there should be a traffic signal, additional lighting, road striping and signage.  

“Cars are flying down this roadway and that needs to change,” he said. “That will change.” 

Carlucci’s office issued the following updates in the aftermath of the event:

• I have spoken to COJ’s Traffic Engineering Director to request urgency be placed on safety improvements for this roadway.
• I have spoken to FDOT District 2 Director about making this a priority and have formally requested the required study be done in order to start the process of discovering what traffic signaling can be installed.
• FDOT will be conducting the study/survey in the coming weeks. This is a requirement prior to any traffic enhancements can be installed.
• Speaker Pro-Temp Wyman Duggan is supporting this initiative in the House and willing to help legislatively.
• Senator Clay Yarborough is supporting this initiative in the Senate and willing to help legislatively. 

Carlucci said once FDOT completes its survey, they can make a full determination on what the approach will be. 

A spokesperson for FDOT told First Coast News they review all crashes, especially ones resulting in death or injuries and evaluate whether improvements can be made for safety.