LCSO deputies nab several drivers during school zone safety week

Put the pedal to the metal in a school zone and be prepared to get pulled over. That is what happened this morning outside Tortuga Preserve Elementary in Lehigh Acres. Deputies targeted the area and delivered a costly lesson to drivers.

Car after car was buzzing past signs on each side of the street, flashing and alerting drivers to slow down despite all those warnings.

Some still don’t slow down and get pulled over. Thursday’s target was speeders on Gunnery Rd. outside Tortuga Preserve Elementary. It is part of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office week-long crackdown for school zone safety.

“People are speeding, they don’t look for buses, they don’t stop for buses I see all the time,” said Ulrika Manson, a parent, “and it’s really dangerous for the kids.”

The behavior is dangerous for the kids and an offending driver’s wallet.

Your average speeding ticket on a school roadway can start at $250. During school zone times, those fines can be doubled. But that did not stop several people from speeding. One by one, cars, vans and even semi trucks got pulled over. They were all going at least 15 mph above the speed limit.

A parent, Angel Felix, said she has seen it happen too many times and is calling for action. It is all in the hope of preventing another accident and hurting innocent children again.

“It’s so important for us to really not be on our phones, stay in the speed zone and watch out surroundings and the kids that are on the bus stops early in the morning,” Felix said.