POINCIANA, Fla. — New safety measures are now in place at a Poinciana intersection where four people died over Labor Day weekend.

What You Need To Know

  • An all-way stop was installed at the intersection of San Miguel Road and Laurel Avenue in Poinciana on Thursday

  • The safety measure comes after a grandmother and her three grandchildren were killed when a 15-year-old driver allegedly ran a stop sign on Sept. 3

  • Residents in the area say they feel safer now that the stop signs are installed

  • A memorial at the intersection has grown over the days, where family members and residents of the victims have brought flowers, stuffed animals, and pictures

An “all-way” stop was installed Thursday morning at the intersection of San Miguel Road and Laurel Avenue where a grandmother and her three grandchildren were killed when a 15-year-old driver allegedly ran a stop sign on Sept. 3.

“Sad, very sad and tragic, but people don’t stop at the stop sign. They just don’t,” resident Vivian Proano said.

Proano lives near the intersection, and said that the most recent incident was not the first time she has witnessed crashes in the area.

“I’ve been here since 1992," she said. "Accidents here — that’s every week, I think, because there’s a lot of accidents here. It’s sad that this had to happen for them to do this.”

The change at the intersection comes as part of an effort to increase safety. Poinciana residents said they feel better now that the county has taken this step to put safety measures in place with the all-way stop signs.

Proano said she is always very careful crossing the streets in her neighborhood because she has seen several drivers running stop signs.

“I was going across the street on Monterrey and San Miguel and somebody went to the stop sign," she said. "They didn’t stop. Good thing I did not cross the street. That’s why I stopped walking my dog. I don’t walk him anymore because it happened twice to me."

Florida Highway Patrol officers say they have responded to 13 crashes at the intersection since September 2020.

A memorial in the intersection has grown over the days, where family members and residents have brought flowers, stuffed animals and pictures of the victims.

Proano said she hopes drivers do their part to keep everyone safe in the community.

“Please slow down. Please slow down. This is a residential area," she said. "You’re not supposed to be driving that fast — and be aware that there’s kids crossing, people walking their dogs."

Osceola County officials said they will conduct additional evaluations for other intersections in the area to ensure community safety. These assessments will consider traffic flow, visibility, and other factors.