A young child runs to a stopped vehicle Aug. 19 on the beach in Daytona Beach, Fla. Safety concerns over cars driving on the beach have risen this year with the deaths of two 4-year-old children.

New Smyrna Beach, Fla. ? Four-year-old Aiden Patrick was playing on the beach just yards away from his father when he yelled “Daddy” and ran toward him, into the path of an oncoming truck driving legally on the sand.

The July death has tested this area’s tradition of beach driving. Along with a 4-year-old British girl who was struck and killed on Daytona Beach a few months earlier, residents are now torn between outlawing cars on the beach and persevering a deep-rooted ritual that helped form the Daytona 500 stock car race.

“It’s an extremely divisive issue that people get very emotional about,” said Volusia County Councilman Josh Wagner.

Like most local elected officials, Wagner wants to keep the custom that has long been part of the area’s identity.

Black-and-white photographs of early Ford models racing on the shore decorate bars and restaurant walls around town, some dating back to the first automobiles. NASCAR even held portions of its races on the sand until 1959, when Daytona International Speedway opened and the Daytona 500 — now known as “The Great American Race” — began to take shape.

Beach driving isn’t as prevalent in Volusia County as it once was. Of the some 40 miles of beaches in the county, only about 17 miles are still open for cars. Vehicles pay a $5 toll for access, and there is a 10 mph speed limit.

There’s no barrier or median separating the driving lanes. Beachgoers have to cross the traffic lanes to get to the water, and when the tide rises, there is less room for children to play.

It was high tide when Aiden, from nearby Deltona, was killed on New Smyrna Beach, about 15 miles south of Daytona Beach. Aiden and his family were enjoying the day on the crowded beach overflowing with continuous traffic.

Aiden’s father, Jason Patrick, had gone to the water to wash off his hands after eating watermelon. Aiden tried to follow.

Aiden “just wanted to be with his daddy,” his father told the county council during an emotional hearing shortly after the accident, pleading for them to end beach driving.

“I hope you never feel what I feel to watch your 4-year-old child’s life taken from you,” he said. “I want this impact to our family to be the last impact to happen to any family.”

The driver has not been cited.