Page 29 - Florida Sentinel 9-17-21

Local/National
Demolition Has Begun On The Hanna Ave. City Project
THE FORMER CABLE COMPANY BUILDING WAS BEING DE- MOLISHED MONDAY, SEPT. 13, 2021 WHEN THIS PHOTO WAS CAPTURED. (PHOTO BY BRUNSON)
Parents Of 12-Year-Old Killed In High-Speed Chase With GA State Patrol Want Answers
PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia State Patrol has brought murder charges against the driver who led troopers on a high speed chase on Highway 92 in Paulding County, a chase that ended when troopers per- formed a PIT maneuver to force the driver to stop, re- sulting in a crash that killed the 12 year old passenger in that car.
The troopers are also under investigation, which is rou- tine when they are involved in fatal car wrecks.
The Paulding County parents of Leden Boykins tell 11Alive they want every- one responsible held ac- countable.
As the troopers were chas- ing a driver they’d just tried to pull over for speeding Fri- day morning, the driver was on the phone with Paulding
LEDEN BOYKINS
County 911.
“I am afraid. I’m afraid for
my life,” he told 911, trying to call the cops on the troopers who were chasing him.
“They need to get them off of me, right now,” the driver
said, “because I’m scared, I’ve got my kids with me, right now.”
The driver was referring to both children who were in the car with him as his kids - - 12-year-old Leden Boykins, the son of a family friend, and the driver’s own 14-year-old son.
“We heard the 911 call,” Leden’s father, Anthony Boykins said, Monday.
He and Leden’s mother, Toni Boykins, said the driver, a neighbor who was giving Leden a ride home, should not have sped away from troopers who had pulled him over for speeding.
“He does bear some re- sponsibility,” Anthony said, “that he was pulled over, and he had kids in the car,” and was speeding and driving recklessly, according to the state patrol.
THE NEW CITY BUILDING WILL SIT ON THIS SITE IN MARCH 2023. (PHOTO BY BRUNSON)
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
The City of Tampa has begun demolition on the new Municipal Facility planned for Hanna Avenue. Sal Rug- giero, Deputy Administra- tor, Infrastructure Services, said demolition should be completed by the end of the month. Construction is set to begin on the multipurpose building in early 2022.
This project is one of
Mayor Jane Castor’s
promises to bring govern- ment into the community. Formerly, the site held a cable company and ware- house – General Cable Cor- poration – that made and sold a variety of electrical and cable products.
The City of Tampa pur- chased the 11 acres of land in 2014 (under Bob Buck- horn’s administration) with plans of moving city offices there. The $6.2 million property is located between 22nd and 30th Streets.
Offices expected to occupy
the building will include: Code Enforcement, Eco- nomic Development, Con- struction, Workforce, Minority Development, and Information Technology. Also on the property will be the headquarters for Fleet Maintenance. These facilities will serve more than one pur- pose. There will be opportu- nities for training and employment.
Also on the grounds will be a Public Safety Center housed on a site currently owned by the County. That 3-story building will house the 3 top officials of the Tampa Police Dept. – Chief and 2 Assistant Chiefs.
Ruggiero said staff has been meeting with and listen- ing to the community sur- rounding the project, especially about the increase in traffic. The building is ex- pected to house at least 500 employees.
The building is expected to be ready for move-in by March of 2023, Ruggiero said.
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