“I don’t know how everyone lived.”

Highway 98. Tuesday night, August 6, 2024. Just before midnight. It’s the area in Santa Rosa Beach locals refer to as “the stretch” between County Highway 395 and Inlet Beach. It’s pitch black.

It’s so dark that a gentleman driving home couldn’t see the LSV (low-speed vehicle) about to cross his path. The speed limit is 65. He squints. What is that up ahead?

Four lives. All under 16. Visiting from Missouri. Heading to Walmart near Dune Lakes Elementary. No headlights.

A deputy near County Highway 395 was already on a traffic stop with a different LSV.

The driver, from Texas, was traveling east on Highway 98. The deputy called for a tow before he even stepped out of his patrol car.

It felt like seconds. The radio keyed up. A crash involving a low-speed vehicle. The Deputy was less than 10 miles away.

When looking at the scene later, Deputy Benjamin Jacobs was still scratching his head. South Walton Fire District treated three of the juveniles on scene. Parents took the fourth to the ER for what may have been a sprained ankle.

“How did these kids survive with just bumps and bruises?”

Low-Speed Vehicles driving on Highway 98 is something, unfortunately, that is familiar to our agency. It’s dangerous. It’s illegal. LSVs are not golf carts.

We are fortunate that in this crash no one lost their lives.

Right now, we are trying to make our own luck. We proactively stop LSVs. We’ve created stickers and disseminate them to LSV Rental Businesses and Property Management Companies. Holding a yearly meeting with each. We’ve created a website addressing rules of the road. Flyers with QR codes. Shared social media messages. We are working with the county to pass ordinances.

But, eventually, that luck will run out if something doesn’t change.

Walton County Sheriff’s Office is asking, in fact begging, all those who live, work, vacation in Walton County to help share this message.

Please understand the laws before driving an LSV on the Emerald Coast.

We have a resource that can help. Visit waltonso.org/lsv to learn more.

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