Safety changes near Hudson school after student killed while riding bicycle

HUDSON, Fla. – It’s been five months since a driver struck and killed a teenager who was riding his bike to school in Hudson.

Myles Farago was struck and killed on Kitten Trail in December 2023 while riding his bicycle to Hudson Academy.

After his death, Hudson Academy families and neighbors called for safety measures on the dark, unlit roadway.

10 Investigations were carried out to find out whether the district managers had implemented their measures.

Pasco County has now added street lighting and a reduced speed school zone with signs and turn signals on Kitten Trail.

Google Street View images taken last year show that the telephone poles along Kitten Trail above did not have street lights, as they do now.

“I was very encouraged to hear that things were changing there at the Kitten Trail in Hudson,” said Myles’ grandmother, Jo Snyder. “We wish so much that everything had been implemented when the schools were built. But at least the children can now cycle or walk to school much more safely.”

Pasco County tells us it is also designing a sidewalk, including a crosswalk on Cobra Way leading to Hudson Academy.

After Myles’ death, Pasco County Schools launched a bicycle safety initiative.

“Anytime something like this happens, it’s always a wake-up call,” said Mike Baumaster, director of safety and emergency operations for Pasco County Schools. “Our county has grown by leaps and bounds and our roads are busier every day.”

The school district worked with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital to train school staff on how to properly fit students with helmets.

“If you fall over, there could be displacement as you fall and you could suffer serious brain damage. And brain damage — it doesn’t heal like a broken arm or something like that,” said Nadiya Fusi, a 6th-grader from Pasco County who said she rides her bike to school every day.

At every school in Pasco County, new red signs remind students to wear their helmets.

The district will provide free helmets and distribute reflectors to students who do not have helmets.

“So that cars can see you in the morning is helpful,” Nadiya said. “And their light shines on it and it reflects the light and it’s easier for them to see you.”

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Myles Farago was driving in the middle of the road, in the dark, without a helmet, when a driver hit him from behind.

FHP tells us the accident remains under investigation and the driver has not been charged.

Snyder wrote a letter for the driver who killed her grandson. She asked 10 Tampa Bay to share it.

“I pray that this young man has a loving, supportive family and friends to see him through this tragedy. I can’t even imagine what he’s going through. My daughter and I have no ill thoughts towards him. He will be forgiven for whatever accident it was. Dark streets, no sidewalks and no signs indicating that there is a large school just around the corner,” Snyder said in her letter. “Things can happen so quickly. Please let this young man know that he continues to be in my thoughts and prayers.”

If you would like to see the full video of Myles’ grandmother reading her letter to the driver and the community, you can watch it below.