Stop For Jarrid

You spend your time as an advocate for pedestrian safety. To no avail, the location where your worst nightmare took place  is still as dangerous as ever. You would prob act as Jimmy did on this day. Angry-Yes, Belligerent-Maybe, Hurt, scared, and frustrated... From the Journal News: A father and pedestrian-safety advocate whose son was killed crossing Midland Avenue was arrested, accused of interfering with [...]

You spend your time as an advocate for pedestrian safety.

To no avail, the location where your worst nightmare took place  is still as dangerous as ever.

You would prob act as Jimmy did on this day. Angry-Yes, Belligerent-Maybe, Hurt, scared, and frustrated...

From the Journal News:

A father and pedestrian-safety advocate whose son was killed crossing Midland Avenue was arrested, accused of interfering with police after another boy was struck by a car in the same location Thursday.

"I'm angry that this happened again, and that nobody listens," Jimmy Amico said following his release.

Jarrid Amico, 10, was struck by a van on Midland Avenue at Palisade Road — just feet from his home — while trying to cross the street on his bicycle in April 2006.

Another 10-year-old boy was hit in the same place Thursday around 3 p.m.

Rye police Lt. James Verille said the boy suffered scrapes and cuts but was not seriously injured when he stepped into Midland Avenue from the east side and was struck by a sport-utility vehicle traveling south.

Verille said the 66-year-old woman from Harrison was driving below the speed limit, and it appears the boy ran out in front of her. He was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.

Police said Amico didn't listen to officers who told him to stay away from the accident scene.

"He was asked by several officers to get back on the sidewalk," Verille said. "He continued to put himself in the middle of it. He was trying to ask the driver questions and conduct his own investigation."

Amico was charged with disorderly conduct, a violation, and obstruction of governmental administration, a misdemeanor.

Amico denies he interfered with police and said the arrest was "retaliation" by police.

Amico has persistently criticized police for not enforcing the 30 mph speed limit on Midland Avenue. Though speed wasn't a factor in his son's accident, Amico claims many drivers speed along the corridor, making it dangerous for pedestrians . Amico also has fought relentlessly with city officials to put a stop sign on Midland Avenue at Palisade Road, which he says could have saved Jarrid's life.

City officials said a mid-block stop sign could make it more dangerous.

"Nothing is going to silence me," Amico said. "They can lock me up for a month. It doesn't matter to me."

Amico said though Thursday's accident made him relive the horror of his son's accident, he hopes it will finally lead to safety improvements. Amico took his own measures last fall and installed a traffic sign in his yard, cautioning drivers to slow down.

"This has to end," he said.

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So I ask you, how would you act/react. To know Jimmy is to see his passion, as a father I too would have been arrested.

For speaking my mind/asking questions/and letting the officers know, this has to END.

If for that use of the freedoms given to Jimmy by our constitution, lands a loving, caring father in jail. Well this Veteran is disappointed at the officers intolerance to a father in pain.

Aaron Kershaw