CLEARWATER, Fla — It's been one year of turning pain into positive change after a Largo High School student was on his way to school before he was hit and killed by a driver.
Saturday night, family and friends honored Ethan Weiser with a candlelight vigil while continuing to advocate for change.
"He was the first one to jump in and, and lend a hand if anyone in the family needed help," Matt Croasmun, Ethan's uncle, said.
Ethan's family has been calling attention to the area of Belleair Road near South Haven Drive. In 2022, a witness told FHP troopers the area was too dark for drivers to see Ethan.
"In that year, we've talked to a lot of people, Gone in front of a lot of groups, talked to the school board talk to city council, county commissioners, different transportation safety groups," Croasmun explained.
Croasmun has been fighting to implement a crosswalk which is now installed near where Ethan was killed.
"It feels great. I think, if anything, it should show people all over Pinellas County and all over Florida that if you talk about it, if you push, if you work together with the community and you work together with your city leaders, you can make changes in your community,"
On Belleair Road, a teddy bear and a sign that reads 'watch for pedestrians' stands in Ethan's memory.
"It's not going to help Ethan, unfortunately, but what it will do is hopefully not create a situation where we learn some other student's name or even a pedestrian's name as they tried to cross Belleair Road.
Croasmun said this is just the beginning as the fight for safety upgrades surrounding school crossings and bus stops throughout Pinellas County and across Tampa Bay will live on.
"The conversation about Ethan will never end," Croasmun added.
