Page 2 - 5-29-15 Friday's Edition

Features
Accident Claims Life Of Pedestrian
Last Thursday, Tampa Po- lice reported that a man was killed after he crossed Hills- borough Avenue against the light.
Police said a truck driver was traveling east on Hillsbor- ough Avenue and had the green light. When he spotted two pedestrians, police said he stopped.
They made it to the center median and the truck driver
continued through the inter- section. One of the men, de- scribed as being in his 50s, slipped off the center median and fell in the street under the rear tires of the truck.
He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Neither of the pedestrian’s names were released, along with the identity of the truck driver.
Murdered Teen’s Father Also Dies Tragically
CHIMURENGA WALLER
On Sunday morning, St. Petersburg Police responded to a call of shots being fired in the area of 54th Avenue, North and I-275. When officers arrived, they found a Silver Lexus stopped in the north bound exit ramp of I-275 at 54th Avenue, North.
Inside the Lexus was 17-year-old Don- triele Waller, dead. He had been shot sev- eral times, and the vehicle also had several bullet holes in it.
Dontriele’s grandfather, Chimurenga Waller, said from information he’s gathered, Dontriele was leaving a club when he got into a dispute with someone in the parking lot.
“We don’t know what happened between the club and where he was found shot to death. “Dontriele was pretty much a laid-back kid, and I was shocked because he was the last person I’d expect something like this to hap-
pen to.”
Waller said his eldest son (Dontriele’s
father) was killed in a shooting in 1990, and that’s what makes this so painful for them.
“Dontriele had been working and was looking forward to getting married. He already had two children, and was expecting a third.
“He was talking on his cell phone when the shooting oc- curred, and told the person he was talking to that he’d been shot.”
Waller said his grandson’s murder indi- cates that we need to come together as a community.
DONTRIELE WALLER
“We all must unite to heal our communities and our young people need guidance. We’ve tried in the past to stop the violence, but we just weren’t persistent enough.”
Waller said he met with the warring fac- tions some years ago and asked them to form a truce.
“When I asked them what started the feud, they didn’t know. One of them said it might have been over a female.
Waller said the fire that ignites the vio- lence among young people is rooted in some- thing that’s petty by nature.
“We’re sure we can stop making enemies out of our own people. There’s no logic in the way our young people process information.
“The healing has to start in our community and first we have to find a way to get them to not just listen, but adopt a different way of thinking and develop a better understanding of who and what the enemy is.”
St. Petersburg Police have not arrested or identified a suspect in Dontriele’s shooting at this time and said they are continuing their investigation.
Traffic Signal To Be Installed In July At Deadly East Hillsborough Crossing
Scenes like this student running across busy East Hillsborough Avenue have become too commonplace, and has cost the lives of two students.
City Council Chair Frank Reddick says he has bittersweet emotions about the traffic signal scheduled to be installed on East Hillsborough Avenue.
The signal, a traffic light and flashing crosswalk, will be installed in front of the Mere- dian Pointe Apartments where two high school students have been killed attempting to cross Hillsborough Avenue.
A year ago, after the death of the second student, Council Chair Reddick and other community leaders met at the deadly crossing to show soli- darity in getting something done to insure the safety of the students.
“I am very pleased that work will begin in July, but with the completion date set for December, it saddens me that things won’t be in place before the kids return to school after the summer.
“Alotofredtapehadtobe dealt with to make this happen, and now things are moving for-
ward.”
Council Chair Reddick
said because the timetable the Florida Department of Trans- portation had set before they could begin the project, the city reached an agreement with FDOT to start the project ear- lier.
“FDOT had projected they wouldn’t be able to start the project until 2016. None of us felt comfortable with that arrangement, so after negotiat- ing with FDOT, it was agreed the city would take on the proj- ect and be reimbursed by FDOT later.
“I know some people had lobbied for an overhead cross- walk, but FDOT told us that project would cost a lot of money and take longer to com- plete.”
Council Chair Reddick
said he believes the projected completion date of December 2015 probably means this proj- ect will be mated with others planned for the Hillsborough Avenue corridor.
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015