Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 6-1-18

Local
Flashing Lights Installed At Site Where 2 Women Died
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Friday, funeral serv- ices will be held for a woman killed after being struck by a car. The accident took place on N. 40th Street, across from the River Pines Com- plex.
Ms. Leila Fay Poole Reid, 63, was attempting to cross the busy street on May 23rd, when she was struck and killed by a vehicle. She died at the scene.
Her daughter, Angel Reid, said her mother had moved into the complex that day. Two days after the fatal accident, City of Tampa em- ployees began installing flashing lights to provide the residents with a safe way to cross the street.
A Tampa native, Ms. Reid attended the public schools of Hillsborough County. After graduating from Hillsborough High School, she continued her education at Florida A & M University. She graduated with a degree in Business Ad- ministration.
SYLVIA HOLTON 2/1/1958 --- 9/16/2017
After 30 years, Mrs. Reid retired from MetLife Insu- rance Company, where she worked in offices in Tampa and San Francisco, Califor- nia. She worked at Health Plan One for two years before retiring.
“She worked hard her whole life to take care of us. I wish I could tell her just how much I appreciate what she did for us. She believed that
LEILA POOLE REID 6/25/1954 --- 5/23/2018
your most important job was to be a mom,” Ms. Reid said of her mother.
Ms. Reid enjoyed read- ing, staying abreast of cur- rent events, pop culture, and walking.
Ms. Reid is survived by another daughter, Crystal Poole Hayes, 3 grandchil- dren, 7 siblings, and other family members and friends.
Wilson’s Funeral Home is
in charge of handling arrangements. (See Funeral Page).
Woman Killed 9 Months Earlier
Ms. Reid was the second resident of the River Pines Complex to be killed at that location. On September 1, 2017, Ms. Sylvia Holton was struck by a vehicle while attempting to cross the street. She died 16 days later as a result of her injuries.
Ms. Holton was also a Tampa native and was the mother of 8 children. She graduated from Hillsborough High School in 1976. Addi- tionally, the Poole and Holton were neighbors dur- ing the 1960s.
After Ms. Holton’s death, a family member con- tacted City Councilman Frank Reddick about hav- ing a safety device placed at the location.
Councilman Reddick
met with City officials shortly after being informed about the accident and the danger senior citizens face attempt- ing to cross the street.
When contacted by the
Sentinel, Councilman Reddick said, “I’m happy that the City’s Department of Transportation realized the danger and immediately de- cided to correct the defi- ciency with a crosswalk.”
In a letter to Council- man Reddick by Ms. Jean Duncan, P. E., Transporta- tion and Stormwater Services Department Director said, “We appreciate you provid- ing us with the River Pines residents’ concerns regarding the inability to cross 40th Street safely. ... We had a meeting ... and have identi- fied the crosswalk on 40th Street in the vicinity of the River Pines Apartments, as a priority project in FY2018.
“The Transportation and Stormwater Services Depart- ment (TSS) is finalizing our plans to install Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons and we will refurbish the cross- walk markings as well.”
The flashing lights were supposed to have been in- stalled by the end of April 2018, but were installed 2 days after Ms. Reid was killed.
FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 11-A