San Carlos Park, Fla - A San Carlos Park teen is recovering in the hospital after he was hit by a car.

This comes after a new study lists Florida as the most dangerous state for pedestrians.

The Department of Transportation built the medians along Palm Beach Boulevard to cut down on pedestrian accidents. The new report lists Lee County's metro area as 23rd in the nation for preventable pedestrian deaths, and witnesses say one accident during Monday's rush hour could have been avoided.

Todd Beland, 15, is air-lifted to Lee Memorial Hospital after he was hit by a car while biking across busy U.S. 41.

Clayton Maederer was with him.

"I just couldn't believe it -- that he actually got hit," Maederer, 15, says.

Troopers on scene say the teens were weaving in and out of heavy traffic as they made their way across. An SUV couldn't stop on time.

"It was horrible," Steve Maederer says. "He's a nice kid and nothing is going his way. He stays with us because he needs a place to live and then this happens to him."

Maederer says he frequently worries about the South Fort Myers High freshman.

"It's a bad -- look at the traffic here -- this is how it is," Maederer says. "It's a scary time of day."

A national study by Transportation for America used different statistics to determine the most dangerous areas for pedestrians. Lee County comes in 23rd.

Bryant Powell was just hit and killed Friday night. He was walking on the side of the road on Pine Island when a pick-up hit him. Powell died before an ambulance arrived.

The Transportation for America report says 32 residents died and another 422 were injured while walking Lee's streets over the past two years.

Powell makes 33.

Now family and friends hope for a speedy recovery for Todd Beland.

"They say he's going to be fine, so you just want to believe it," Maederer says.

The report also says most pedestrian deaths happen on streets that are easy to speed and lack safe sidewalks and crosswalks.