PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — One local accident attorney is warning drivers and community members to stay alert as he says he sees an increase in car accident cases with the start of the school year — attributing that spike, in part, to more traffic and more people crossing busy streets.
Some parents are feeling the impact as well.
It’s been a little over a week since James Furness received a phone call he will never forget.
WATCH Pinellas County car crash attorney sees rise in cases as school year begins
His 14-year-old son, Asher was riding his bike near the Mangrove Bay Golf Course, when he was hit by a car and injured.
"It's a busy cyclist road and he made the left hand turn and knocked him clean off his bike," Furness said.
Furness said his son was taken to emergency care Monday.
"He’s got pain in his knee, he has a big bruise across his thigh, and they want to go see an orthopedist," Furness said.
Accident attorney Frank DiCosola said he’s familiar with accidents like this one.
"We end up getting a pretty good spike in our car accident cases that we end up talking to people about," he said.
DiCosola said he sees an increase in people walking through his door after school starts.
"We definitely get all of our hands on deck for phone calls, meeting with people, for getting claims set up," he said.
He said many drivers aren’t used to school zones and increased traffic.
"Everybody gets back into their routine, the school routine, but everybody is a little rusty, so they get back on the roads and there's a little bit of rain on the roads, and so the traffic turns into accidents," said DiCosola.
That’s why he’s trying to get a message out to drivers.
"Take some extra time. I think we all do the last minute thing, so give yourself some extra time… you’re not in a rush," he said.
Furness said Asher is recovering and he’s using this incident as a learning lesson.
"I tell my son this, you have to keep your head on a swivel, you never know when somebody is not going to be paying attention to you," Furness asid.
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