US 19 in Pinellas County found to be one of Florida’s most dangerous roads

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (WFLA) — A new report is shedding light on just how many people have been killed on U.S. Highway 19, something Karine Burkhardt knows all too well.

“My daughter just crossed the street to go find a gas station that was open and she never came back,” Burkhardt said.

Tarpon Springs police said Burkhardt’s daughter, 17-year-old Mia Schoen was crossing US 19 on March 28, 2023, when she was hit and killed by a dark gray, 2017 limited edition Toyota Tundra pickup truck.

Police said that driver then fled the scene.

Burkhardt said she still wants justice more than a year later.

“It makes you angry to know that someone can hit someone to the point where someone dies, look out his car window, pop a U-turn and leave the scene and still not be found,” she said. “That is something I have a hard time getting peace with.”

Schoen’s family is just one of thousands across Florida, grieving the loss of a loved one killed in a crash.

Consumer Affairs said U.S. Route 1 holds the top spot for traffic deaths in Florida.

But it spans the entire state, so they broke down Florida’s roads even further, looking at the stretches within county borders.

Their data shows US 19 in Pinellas County ranking as the deadliest with 94 deaths from 2020 to 2022 followed by US 19 in Pasco County with 68 deaths.

But data reporter Dieter Holger said it’s important to pay attention to the ‘why.’

“Really what it comes down to is human error is the biggest contributing factor as a spokesperson for the department of transportation told us,” he said. “94% of serious crashes involve human error.”

So what is the state doing about it? The Florida Department of Transportation is actually in the midst of a six-year project involving US 19 at a cost of $240 million.

“The main focus of this US 19 project is to increase capacity and decrease traffic congestion along the US 19 corridor,” FDOT District Seven Communications Manager Kris Carson said. “As with all projects, the Department seeks to make safety a top priority and ensure pedestrian safety.”

“This project will change the existing six-lane divided highway to a six-lane controlled access roadway with one-way frontage roads in both directions parallel to US 19 between SR 580 and CR 95 (Curlew Road),” she said. “An Interchange is planned midway between SR 580 and SR 586 (Curlew Road), just north of Boy Scout Road.”

“A new interchange at SR 586 (Curlew Road) will also be added so that US 19 traffic will travel uninterrupted as it passes over SR 586,” Carson said. “For safety, pedestrians will have a single dedicated underpass between Evans Road and Republic Drive.”

She said FDOT also planned a new pedestrian bridge over US 19 at Northside Drive.

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