LAKE WALES, Fla. — Joel Galindo often brings his children to a memorial near the intersection of Dr. J.A. Wiltshire Avenue and Miami Street in Lake Wales.
“I come through here every time I come to pick my kids up. I come through here with them,” said Galindo.
It's in memory of his 13-year-old son Jadin Galindo, who was hit and killed by a truck while waiting for the bus on a foggy February morning.
"He was always happy, full of spirit. He was very loving, kind, respectful to everybody,” Galindo said.
Following Jadin's death, parents pushed city leaders to fix the lack of lighting at the bus stop behind Florida’s Natural orange juice plant.
“Lighting should be everywhere. Why does it have to take something tragic to happen?” said Galindo.
Lake Wales city leaders took action to improve safety at bus stops across the area, working with Polk County Public Schools and Duke Energy to conduct an audit.
“We got together with those two entities to figure out how many bus stops were actually serviced in the Lake Wales area. We found out there were 130 of them,” said Lake Wales Mayor Jack Hilligoss.
Hilligoss said 16 of those bus stops did not have any lighting.
“Nine of them already had the infrastructure, the transformers, the poles, and they were able to install new lighting there almost immediately. All nine were done by last May,” said Hilligoss.
The mayor said the remaining lights are expected to be installed by the end of the month. Jadin’s father hopes the new streetlight, right above his son’s memorial, is the start of more safety measures.
“It’s avoidable. They just have to get up and do something about it,” said Galindo.
