13-year-old boy seriously injured after being hit by car in Millcreek

A 13-year-old boy is in serious condition after being hit by a car in Millcreek Thursday afternoon. Photo: Gephardt Daily/Patrick Benedict

MILLCREEK, Utah, Nov. 3, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A 13-year-old boy is in serious condition after being hit by a car in Millcreek on Thursday afternoon.

Unified Police Department Lt. Brian Lohrke said the crash occurred in the area of 3300 S. 1779 East, near Evergreen Junior High School, at approximately 3:15 p.m. Lohrke said a red Ford Edge was travelling eastbound on 3300 South, and witnesses stated that the 13-year-old boy was on the sidewalk walking eastbound and just darted out into traffic.

“This is a non-intersection, non-crosswalk area,” Lohrke said. “The Ford Edge tried to swerve and miss the male but unfortunately hit him. (The boy) was taken to the hospital with head injuries but was conscious and alert at the time of his transport to the hospital.

Lohrke said police would like to remind parents to talk to their children about safety when crossing the road.

“We’ve had some horrible tragedies the last couple of days, including one in Herriman. Just listening to the parents on that one, it’s something that no parent should have to experience. So we want to remind people, just talk to your kids, remind them of the safe way to cross the street, to not be paying attention to anything else but the traffic, and cross in a designated area. Make sure to have that talk with your kids — I’m going to do that when I get home today.”

The earlier incident Lt. Lorhke referred to was on Tuesday when 13-year-old Andrew Ardell Perry Drisdom, from Riverton, died after being hit by a car in Herriman.

A young lady who was a witness to the accident in Millcreek described what she saw and heard.

“I heard it mostly, this kid was running across the street to get to the other side or to a friend — I don’t remember — and he got hit by the red car up there,” she said. “The ambulance came, and they cut off his clothes to find any injuries and it was mostly his head. He was bleeding a lot, and they put him onto the bed and put him into the ambulance.

“I started crying. I felt super bad. I didn’t want him to be hurt from it. I just wanted him to be OK.”

Melissa Martinez, a parent at the school and the PTA president-elect at Evergreen, said she was initially afraid it was her child that was hit:

“My child does walk home this way sometimes, so when I saw this, I thought, is it my kid? So I pulled over and ran up this way.

“I always worry about kids walking down the side of the road, because so many of them live over there, and I wonder how they cross the street. When my son started going there, I thought, is he smart enough to cross the street up there, at the light, and walk down the right side of the road, so he doesn’t have to dart?”

The boy was transported to Primary Children’s Hospital.

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