RUSKIN, Fla — A family in Ruskin is calling for change after they were involved in a rollover crash on 19th Ave near U.S. 41.
Jaime Holland and her family found themselves trapped upside down in their car after she said a driver rolled through a stop sign and crashed right into them.
"I don't know how we walked out alive... Our car was flipped over. We rolled a few times," Holland explained.
Holland said she drives on 19th Ave multiple times a day and feared getting hit one day.
"This is not the first one that's happened over here. I've witnessed a few. I've helped a couple of people when they've happened out here," Holland explained.
In June, her nightmare came true.
"I have a 22-month-old. You don't get over the sight of your baby hanging upside down in their car seat… it was the most terrifying two minutes of my life before I was able to get unstrapped from my seat belt, fall and then be able to turn to her," Holland added.
We stood on 19th Ave. for two hours and shot a video that showed car after car rolling right through the stop sign or stopping after the white line.
Holland worries the stop sign is too far from 19th Ave., and now she's calling for change.
"So, we called the county. Almost immediately, county leaders agreed to investigate the sign placement and determine ownership. We're told the stop sign is on a private road that connects with a shopping center on 19th Ave.," Holland said.
In a statement, they were told:
"...If the county's investigation determines that the sign is in the county right of way and there is a safety concern, we will address accordingly. If it's determined that the sign is on private property, we will contact the property owner with our finding."
But how soon could that happen? We're told leaders will look into this sometime next week. As for Holland, she said it can't come quickly enough.
"We could have died... I don't want it to take someone actually dying for them to take this seriously," Holland said.
