Lobbying for change

Shanta Norton, sister and legal guardian of the late Shannon Rushing, is seen on Dec. 24, 2025, pointing toward the vicinity of Northwest Old Blitchton Road where Shannon was struck and killed Oct. 27 while walking to her school bus stop. Norton has criticized the conclusions of an investigation into the crash and launched a campaign for legislation calling for improvements in pedestrian safety. [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette]

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Posted December 30, 2025 | By Andy Fillmore, [email protected]

Shannon Rushing will never wear the cap and gown her older sister and guardian, Shanta Norton, ordered for her graduation from Forest High School in May of 2026.

Shannon,18, was struck and killed around 6:20 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2025, as she walked 593 feet east of Northwest 22nd Avenue on Northwest Old Blitchton Road, according to a Florida Crash Report completed that day by the Ocala Police Department.

Norton, Shannon’s legal guardian for the last 11 years and surrogate mom, remains grief stricken.

“I try to do my crying and screaming alone in the car. I try to be strong for the family,” Norton said.

“Shannon always wanted to make you smile and give you a hug. She was very sweet, happy and silly, and loved to sing and dance. Shannon hated to be late. She had special needs but completed all her work (for graduation) and wanted to be a math teacher,” Norton added.

Shannon had been making the same walk to the bus stop for about four months, which covered roughly six blocks from Northwest 23rd Avenue on Northwest Old Blitchton Road, a two-lane road with unpaved shoulders that runs north to south from U.S. Highway 27 to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. Once Shannon reached MLK Avenue, she had to turn south and walk about a block to her bus stop at Northwest 4th Street, according to Norton.

The crash report states the driver of the 2015 Nissan Rogue that struck Shannon, whose name has not been released by authorities, was traveling east on Old Blitchton Road at approximately 43 mph in the 30-mph zone. The report indicates the conditions were “dark, not lighted” and the driver was “not distracted” and vision was “not obstructed.” It notes “none” for “contributing circumstances” from the road or environment and states the driver “failed to keep in the proper lane” and “exceeded the posted speed limit.”

Shannon was walking and “located in a travel lane” at the time of the crash and in the roadway “improperly,” according to the report.

A statement by OPD was released on Dec. 15, 2025, that contained conclusions of an investigation into the fatality.

“Our investigation determined that Shannon was walking in the middle of the roadway, wearing headphones, and heading to her school bus stop when she was struck by an eastbound Nissan Rogue. At the time of the crash, the weather conditions were cloudy and dark. The 60-year-old female driver of the vehicle fully cooperated with investigators. Based on a thorough investigation, it was determined that no criminal violations were committed by the driver and speed was not a factor in the incident,” the statement read.

Norton said she is frustrated with some aspects of the crash investigation.

“I’m mad as hell. How can the police investigation say speed was not a factor? I know this was an accident and not intentional, but shouldn’t the driver be held responsible and be charged?” she said.

Norton said she does not believe Shannon was in the middle of the road during that portion of her walk.

“Shannon would’ve been on the edge of the road not the middle. She was on the edge of the roadway and the damage on the car proves that. The damage is only on the passenger side,” Norton stated.

Norton reacted to statements that Shannon may have been wearing headphones, although the crash report does not note any electronic devices distracting the victim.

“Shannon wore headphones around her neck,” Norton said.

Jeffery Walczak, OPD’s public information officer, responded to Norton’s concerns in an email.

“After a thorough investigation, the investigating officer deemed the driver was not excessively over the posted speed limit or driving in a way considered reckless under the law, but rather a civil infraction. In this investigation, the determining factors were deemed not criminal due to pedestrian traffic and environmental factors. The evidence presented in the investigation adhere to traffic fatality procedures,” he stated.

“For criminal charges, our investigators must prove that the driver acted with negligence or intent beyond what’s considered a normal accident. If they were driving within the law and not impaired, it often doesn’t meet the threshold for criminal responsibility. That’s why the citation for violating a traffic control device was issued as a traffic violation rather than a criminal charge,” Walczak wrote.

“That doesn’t make the loss or the outcome any less devastating, but it does affect how charges are applied,” he stated.

Norton said she is concerned about the safety of other students she sees on Old Blitchton Road.

Marion County Public Schools offices were closed at the time of the writing of this article and information about county designated school bus stops in the area was not available.

A request for OPD records for crashes on Old Blitchton Road for a period of five years, from Nov. 1, 2020, to Nov. 1, 2025, indicated the fatal crash involving Shannon and four other crashes with any type of injury.

Norton, 48, is a transportation zone manager MCPS and formerly was a bus driver. Her mother, Saphronia Rushing, adopted Shannon in 2012. Norton became Shannon’s legal guardian and surrogate mom after Saphronia passed away from leukemia on Feb. 20, 2014. Norton, divorced in 2016 after 20 years of marriage to Daniel Norton, who remained close to the family until he died in 2020. As a single mom, she cared for her own three children, now all in their 20s, a stepchild and six other children adopted by Saphronia, who operated Sweethearts Day Care.

Darnitha Johnson of Ocala is very familiar with Northwest Old Blitchton Road. She lived on the roadway from 2019 to 2023 and her mother lives in the 1900 block. Johnson said the stretch of roadway is busy and needs proper lighting and additional speed limit signage. She said traffic rolling off Northwest 10th Street, possibly from Interstate 75, may travel 45 mph to 55 mph on the way to MLK Avenue and in some cases on the way to State Road 200.

Johnson called for a memorial sign for Shannon to be placed along Northwest Old Blitchton Road.

Norton wants to see timely changes, including increased enforcement, enhanced lighting and safety improvements for school children on Northwest Old Blitchton Riad and a traffic calming circle on the roadway.

Johnson agreed that a traffic circle on the roadway would help.

Norton also would like up see the changes expanded.

“There are no pedestrian signs, no sidewalks or adequate lighting on most of the west side of Ocala,” Norton stated.

Norton hopes “Shannon’s Law,” an initiative that has garnered 3,459 signatures on a petition at change.org, and roadway changes, will begin soon to honor Shannon.

“We’d like to see the law in place so Shannon didn’t die in vain,” Norton said.

Ocala City Council President Pro-Tem Ire Bethea stated via email that the city and Marion County Public Schools are looking at ideas to improve student pedestrian safety.

“The city of Ocala is communicating with Marion County Public Schools to apply for grant funding to help address some of the issues related to sidewalks. A combined effort is being made. Members of the city and MCPS’s will be meeting in early 2026,” he wrote.

“The city of Ocala prioritizes funding for sidewalks according to higher speed and volume of traffic, routes to school or travel destinations. We are all torn and will do what we can to improve safety,” Bethea continued. “These are not just words on paper. Concerted efforts are being made.”