Mother and son calling for change at Island Coast High School after seeing student hit by car

Writer: Drew Hill
Published: Updated:

A mother and son want to see changes made at a Cape Coral high school after seeing a student get hit by a car. The son has a special perspective, as he was hit by a car a few years ago.

“My hands were trembling and I try to text my mom and say hey mom I got hit by a car. I’m fine there’s an ambulance coming for me. She called me and she was like what?” said Gage Slabinski.

Red and blue flashing lights and a warning for drivers to slow down is what you’ll see. The Cape Coral Police Department was in full force outside Island Coast High School on Friday morning. They were delivering warnings and handing out tickets.

Thursday morning, WINK News arrived just moments after a crash involving a pickup truck and a student walking to school. We are still working to learn the student’s condition.

“It was terrible. It reminded me of the day it happened to me,” Slabinski said, a junior.

Two years ago, Gage was hit in almost the exact same spot. “I was walking home from school,” he said. “There was a van and they waved me on and I couldn’t see past the van so I took a couple steps in front and there was a car right there then I got hit.”

Slabinski suffered injuries to his hand and elbow. His mother, Nikki Yawn, wants to see the city or the school district do something to keep their kids safe.

“There needs to be a crosswalk or lights or something. Make people stop, make people pay attention,” Yawn said.

Nikki says she tried to get the conversation started two years ago to no avail. “I tried to raise a flag two years ago. Nobody wanted to hear me. How many more children? how many more of our children need to be hurt— need to be hit in the street before they take action?” she wonders.

Cape Coral Police were out Friday morning reminding drivers to slow down and making sure students were paying attention.

Leaders with the City of Cape Coral say they don’t have plans to put a crosswalk along Gator Circle at this time.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.