When speeding cars on a Spring Hill Road nearly killed a family pet, a young man reached out to Real Time Traffic Expert Chuck Henson for help.

Eight-year-old Zachary Schuster wrote Spectrum Bay News 9 to report the problem.

"I live on Larkin Road in Spring Hill," he wrote. "My road is very dangerous. My dog, Missy, got hit by a car. The car was speeding in a 30 mph zone."

Zachary also said he and friends don't feel safe walking to and from the school bus stop.

There are no sidewalks on the section of road, and you can see evidence of kids playing in the road. So speeding cars are a threat.

Sgt. Brent Stentz, who is in charge of traffic operations for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, said there are a number of ways to report problems.


Eight-year-old Zachary Schuster wrote Spectrum Bay News 9 after his dog, Missy, was hit by a car.

"Either call into our dispatch, call in ask for the traffic unit," he said. "I get numerous requests daily. I also get emails from our media for traffic requests."

Residents can also reach out to the Sheriff's Office on Facebook and Twitter.

Once he has the report, Stentz looks at the history of the road.

"I'll look at crashes. I'll look at the totality, maybe verbal warnings, citations written in that area, traffic stops," he said. "We go back and I just look in the database and see, do we really have an issue here?"

As for Larkin Road, the Sheriff's Office is putting its new enforcement plan together right now.

And as for Zachary's dog, Missy? She's healing fine.