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It's shaping up to be a particularly deadly summer on Tampa Bay area roads

Posted at 5:46 PM, Jul 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-11 17:56:06-04

This weekend a roadside memorial went up in Lakeland, marking the spot where three friends died in yet another bad accident on the roadway.

The statewide accident numbers show a dangerous trend: More than seven people are dying everyday on the road in Florida.

“My son was amazing. He was mommy’s little boy,” said Donna Collogan, the mother of Christopher Stewart.

Stewart, his girlfriend, Katie Pitock, and their friend, Brittany Lewis, all died in a crash on U.S. 98 North in Lakeland on Saturday night.

Police said the man who caused it, Michael Marrero, survived and is in stable condition. He may be charged with reckless driving.

“They said they had been involved in an accident and I said tell me that they are alright, and they said no ma'am they are not, and I just fell…there are no words,” Collogan said of the moment she learned the news.

The year 2016 is shaping up to be a deadly summer on the roads. ABC Action News has followed tragedy after tragedy, including the quadruple fatal on I-4 late last month that killed a small child.

Then just a couple weeks ago on the Howard Frankland bridge, a mother, father, and their son died in a suspected DUI crash.

“They need to be more cautious, they need to realize that they’re taking lives,” Collogan said.

According to data through the state, more than 1,300 people have died on the road this year — that’s more than seven every day.

The numbers show a steady increase in fatal accidents in the last four years.

One common thread in the bay area, according to official, is people driving too fast.