TAMPA, Fla. — It's been nine years since Andrew Joseph III died after getting kicked out of the Florida State Fair. His parents are still fighting to make the fair safer for kids.
Feb. 7, 2014, Joseph was kicked out of the fair and, while trying to cross Interstate 4, was hit and killed by a car.
"Tomorrow, nine years ago, my son will be killed, and it will change our lives forever," Andrew Joseph Jr. said. "It's sort of like a life sentence. It never goes away. The pain, the misery, the agony never goes away. So you just kind of learn to live with it. And it gets a little better every day. But it's a very difficult situation. Not only for me and the family but for the community."
We talked with Joseph Jr. and his wife, Deanna, about the new admissions policy.
It states that starting at 6 p.m. on each day of the fair, any attendee under 17 years old must be accompanied by an admission-paying parent or guardian who is at least 21 years or older and has a valid ID. The parent or guardian can supervise up to four people 17 years old or younger while at the fair, the new policy states.
The Joseph family wanted the policy to be all day, not just after 6 p.m. But, they see the new rule as a step in the right direction.
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"I feel like they gave us 55% of what we've asked for," Joseph Jr. said. "We are glad to see things going in that's going to help to keep this fair safe as long as this fair's operating. My son's name is significant."
The family would like to see more safety measures in place. They are asking for better lighting, more crosswalks, and for fair officials to refrain from allowing registered gun owners to carry weapons at the fair.
"They can take the guns out, and we're begging them, we're pleading with them to get in front of this atom bomb that's waiting to explode, as we see in Arcadia, Florida, to just have the guns out when the kids are being invited," Joseph Jr. said. "That way, we won't have guns and alcohol and children in a stand-your-ground state. All in one facility, like an atom bomb waiting to explode."
Following a deadly shooting over the weekend in Arcadia at the DeSoto County Fair, we asked Florida State Fair officials about Joseph's request.
"We are following state law," said Cheryl Flood, the Executive Director. "And we have a very robust policy where if you come into the gates and you have a concealed carry, there's a process that we walked through with the sheriff's office to ensure that it's a valid ID."
Flood said they are constantly monitoring their security protocols.
"This is something that we've done for years. We feel confident in our program. I have confidence in Sheriff Chronister's team," Flood said. "We want kids to be supervised; bottom line. When moms and dad's here and adults here with those children, they tend to be more well-behaved. And we want to make sure that all families can come out here and enjoy their experience."
After Andrew's death, the fair began holding teens ejected from the fair at a tent where they could wait in a safe place and call their parents to pick them up.
"You know, one phone call nine years ago will make this interview invalid; you know, we wouldn't be standing here. But because of my son's death, all those things have changed," Joseph Jr. said.
Last year, a jury awarded the Joseph family $15 million in damages in the wrongful death lawsuit against the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Money that will be used for the Andrew Joseph Foundation.
"The Andrew Joseph foundation focuses on safety first for children, at public venues, within the community within safe spaces within their homes," Deanna Joseph said. "All those parameters are what we believe, or life-sustaining measures which will protect other families from ever having to deal with what we're dealing with right now, which is that life sentence, which is that thing where time does not heal the wounds. But we do change the perspective of how those wounds are cared for and how we address the trauma that has been associated with that wound."
