CRAWFORDVILLE, FL (WTXL) -- A viral Facebook post out of Wakulla County shows how car seats saved the lives of two children traveling on U.S. Highway 319 with their mother on Halloween.
Wakulla County Fire Rescue says the post has been viewed 1.5 million times. Following that Facebook post, attention is turning to the road the crash happened on and the high number of accidents on it.
It's the only north-south road through the county. Thousands take it every day.
"We haven't had an influx of people, but we have had an influx of accidents," said fire chief Mike Morgan.
In a span of three days, Wakulla County Fire Rescue responded to five crashes on U.S. 319.
"Two weeks before that, we had an accident that actually had a fatality in it and two other major injuries," Morgan said.
On Saturday, October 31, a massive crash destroyed a car with a mother and her two kids inside. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
The Florida Department of Transportation is planning to expand the road to four lanes to help keep accidents like this from happening.
"It's going to be several years and probably over a decade before it's completed, but they are scheduled to begin that within three years," Morgan said.
FDOT has already widened three miles of the road in the county from Rivers Road to Four Points, but the goal is to expand the remaining 19 miles, affecting residents and fire rescue.
"One of our fire stations in the northern end of the county -- in the Riversink area -- we've been notified that the right-of-way will take most of our property, and we will have to relocate that station," Morgan said.
That move won't happen until 2018, giving the department enough time to plan.
"Not everybody's in favor of it," Morgan said, "but I think when you drive 319 and you see the traffic on it, especially during rush hour, that improvements need to be made."
