Orange County supervisors approve plan for traffic signal where 8-year-old boy was killed

ORANGE COUNTY (CNS) -- Orange County supervisors voted this week to fast-track the installation of a traffic signal in Coto de Caza at an intersection where an 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by a pickup truck.

Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said there was an outpouring of "grief and concern by community members" in September when Bradley Rofer was killed in a crosswalk at Coto de Caza Drive. The boy, who was riding his bike, was wearing a helmet but still sustained fatal injuries.

The new traffic light will be at Oso Parkway and Coto de Caza Drive.

The county paid $90,000 to pay for a design of the signal, Bartlett said.

An 8-year-old boy has been taken off life support after being seriously injured when he was struck by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle in the Orange County community of Coto de Caza, his family announced.

"Because of the critical nature of this intersection and what happened we wanted to fast-start things," Bartlett said. "We've got everything really fast-tracked and we're not going to let up on the gas pedal now."

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said the area "does feel like there's a lot of fast, speeding cars in a predominantly residential community... The infrastructure has not kept up with the population growth... You have my assurance as I transition into representing the Fifth District and the community of Coto de Caza I will take the baton from Supervisor Bartlett and continue to expedite the project."

County traffic engineer Denis Bilodeau told supervisors that a project of this kind would normally take two years "but we're going to try to fast-track that as quickly as possible... We're hoping to fast-track this and have it done in 18 months."

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