SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A memorial meant to honor two people killed in a 2015 car crash was recently covered by an illegal advertisement to buy "Junk Cars" and city officials say the disrespectful act highlights a bigger problem with the small signs littering intersections.
Two "Drive Safely" signs for Laura Hopkins and Erica Jusino stand at the corner of State Road 436 and Winter Woods Boulevard, to honor the two who were killed in a crash in May 2015.
On Wednesday, someone snapped a photo showing an advertisement zip-tied to the front of the memorial showcasing "Junk Cars." For obvious reasons, it upset quite a few people.
"It's kind of pitiful," Casselberry City Manager Randy Newlon said. "The signs are a persistent nuisance."
Newlon has to dedicate crews every single day to removing snipe signs, which are illegal posted at right-of-way intersections without the proper permit.
"That was disappointing," he said of the latest incident. "It was. Not surprising but whenever you see something like that, it's disappointing."
Newlon hopes others will learn from this ordeal and reconsider where they post those persistent illegal temporary signs.
News 6 reached out to "Junk Cars," and spoke with an employee, who said he planned on speaking with the individual responsible for the sign. That employee, who didn't give his name, said he knows signs shouldn't be posted in places such as crash memorials.