Boynton man’s friends push for safety after crash

Speeding was not a factor in fatal accident, cops say

After Timothy Baxter was killed Sunday while crossing Seacrest Boulevard in Boynton Beach, his friends banded together to demand road improvements to save others from the same tragic fate.

Boynton Beach police on Wednesday said their investigation found the car that struck and killed Baxter wasn’t speeding. But in response to the agency receiving complaints about the roadway, police have temporarily placed a sign to deter speeding in the area.

Baxter, 53, was a lifelong Boynton resident.

“He will be missed as the guy who took care of everything, and everyone,” his friend Valry English Pritchard said. “He was living his life to the fullest.”

Baxter was heading east trying to cross Seacrest north of Woolbright Road about 3:40 p.m. when he was hit by a northbound silver 2003 Chevy Cavalier. The driver, 35-year-old Vanessa Murphy, also a Boynton Beach resident, was not injured, police said.

Baxter was taken to Delray Medical Center, where he died, police said.

Baxter’s friends showed up to Monday’s City Commission meeting and asked officials to lower the 40-mph speed limit on the boulevard to stop speeders.

It will be up to the county to determine whether any change to the road is necessary, officials said.

By Tuesday, the police department had placed a radarequipped sign near the crash site, which displays drivers’ speeds as they go by.

Police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said the police traffic

unit put up the radar sign because of the accident and other traffic complaints the department received.

The sign, which is periodically moved to areas throughout the city where the department receives the most complaints, will remain there temporarily, she said.

Even though speeding was ruled out as a factor in the crash, it remains unknown if Baxter was in the crosswalk at the time of the crash, and investigators do not expect to file criminal charges, Slater said.

Baxter, who didn’t drive, was known as a staple on the streets near Seacrest Boulevard and his home on Southeast Ninth Avenue. He was always cautious when crossing the street, said his longtime friend William Shawn Breze.

“Timmy wasn’t one to jump out in front of cars,” Breze said. “He’d wait five or six, sometimes 10 minutes letting cars go past.”

Baxter was like a brother to him, he said. They lived next door to each other as children, and their friendship stayed strong in their 50s with Baxter visiting Breze’s house daily. Baxter had even visited Breze, 52, earlier in the day Sunday, he said.

Baxter had trouble pronouncing Breze’s name, and instead called him Storm. He would come over to smoke cigarettes with his old friend, greeting him by saying, “Hey Storm, you got a smokie?”

Pritchard, 52, remembers playing kickball, hide-andseek and red rover after school with Baxter and other neighborhood kids, she said.

As an adult, he cared for his neighbor’s yards, mowing their lawns and removing weeds in exchange for however much cash they could spare, she said.

Pritchard was one of Baxter’s friends who attended the commission meeting and asked officials to make a change.

He left behind two white dogs, an American Bulldog named Angel and a Terrier mix named Baby Girl, said his neighbor Tina Schurmann.

Though Baxter’s family is taking care of the dogs temporarily, Schurmann is spearheading the effort to find them a new home where they can live together.

Baxter’s friends and family will gather Saturday at the Boynton Woman’s Club to honor him.

The memorial begins at 10 a.m. at the club, 1010 S. Federal Highway.

Baxter