ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A memorial is growing at the corner of North Volusia Street and West King Street in St. Johns County. That is where a 6-year-old was riding his bicycle when he was hit and killed Monday evening around 6:15 p.m.
Family members of the little boy spoke with News4JAX Tuesday and told us his name was Riley Badger. He was riding his bike in his neighborhood west of downtown St. Augustine, west of U.S. 1.
Investigators say they are not searching for the driver who hit the child and have not released any other details about the person.
Throughout the day Tuesday, people arrived at the intersection where the little boy lost his life. They placed balloons, flowers and toys there in remembrance.
“He was so sweet. He was so sweet that I’m in the store and he said, ‘Auntie Frankie, I love you,’ and I said ‘I love you too.’ I said ‘What do you want for Christmas?’ He said, ‘A phone’ and I’ve got my baby a phone,” Frankie Williams, Riley’s great aunt, said.
Other family members were not ready to talk to us about the tragedy. Friends were with Riley’s family all day Tuesday for support. The 6-year-old’s grandmother works for St. Johns County Schools in the transportation department. Members of the school board were on hand to support her.
King Street is in front of Riley’s house and it’s very busy. It’s an intersection that many in the area say needs some changes made.
“You need better lighting out here, safety zone issues -- that’s the first problem to come out of Volusia and Kings,” Darryl Hicks, a neighbor, said. “it’s like a race track. You need to change the speed limit from 35 to lower. It’s ridiculous they don’t care about the west side.”
The St. Johns County Commissioner’s Office sent the following statement about safety concerns in the area:
We’ve reviewed the intersection of West King and Volusia Street and it meets traffic signal warrants. We will start programming this work as a Capital project, which may be a signal or possible roundabout.