WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Every single day Jimmy and Justine Rebel show up near the corner of County Line Road and Solitude Drive — the spot their triplet, Julia Rebel lost her life.
“I was behind her I saw everything but I still can’t fathom it. It doesn’t seem real,” said Jimmy Rebel.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Julia was speeding when she lost control of her car on October 30 and slammed into a tree. She died at the scene.
“He called me and he was like you know I don’t think she’s going to make it, you like freeze up. You just don’t want it to be real,” said Justine Rebel.
They say her death should be a wake-up call to all drivers in the area to slow down and not take any risks.
Neighbors say they hear screeching tires and revving engines every night but they also see folks speeding during the day.
“Everyone’s in a hurry, they’re behind schedule they’re trying to get where they have to go, there’s a lot more traffic so people are speeding but the ownership is on us to try and slow down more and be more careful,” said John Picarelli.
He heard the crash Julie was involved in from his house.
Kyle Molder says he’s concerned about kids trying to cross the street.
“I’ve seen children out here literally stranded in the middle of the road waiting for cars to clear so they can continue their crossing,” he said.
Vanessa Blaszczyk is a PTA volunteer at Sand Pine Elementary school — she says they have talked a lot about the speeding issues and the fact that people aren’t slowing down in school zones either.
“The scary part is like during the day when children are riding their bikes, they’re walking to school and they just want to get to school safe,” she said.
Neighbors believe a simple solution would be to put more stop signs out here at four-way intersections to help break the traffic up.
They’d also like to see flashing lights at crosswalks or additional stoplights. The county says it’s collecting data next month in a traffic study after receiving a request last week to reduce the speed in this area.
ABC Action News also saw the Pasco County Sheriff's Office posting signs that show drivers how fast they are going compared to the posted speed limit which is 40 mph.
Pasco County officials say: Requests for a new traffic signal, flasher, or other traffic control device or sign can be made by contacting Pasco County’s Customer Service Center at (727) 847-2411, or you can enter your request on our website through the Customer Service Center page.
