CINCINNATI – A driver struck a 15-year-old girl on her way to school in Avondale Wednesday morning and then drove off, police said.
The girl was crossing in a crosswalk with a crossing signal at Reading Road and Glenwood at about 8:15 a.m., according to Lt. Steve Saunders. The driver was at fault, he said.
The driver stopped, surveyed the scene and then left in a 1998 blue Honda CRV with Ohio license plate GRW 8229, Saunders said. He was last seen driving north on Reading Road.
The girl was transported to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center for observation.
"The contact between the pedestrian and the car was not extreme," Saunders said. "The young lady was not severely injured... it seems like she'll be OK, so we're grateful for that."
Saunders warned that pedestrians and drivers should pay attention to their surroundings, even when they have the right of way.
"Be mindful," he said. "Pay attention. Look both ways."
This was the third pedestrian struck in Cincinnati this year. City officials want a report on how to fix the most dangerous crosswalks.
"We want the city to take proactive steps to make sure that this doesn't continue to happen," City Councilmember P.G. Sittenfeld said.
Fulton Jefferson of the Avondale Community Council said the real problem is the drivers behind the wheel.
"They're just going too fast every day," Jefferson said.
Saunders pointed to distracted drivers as part of the problem.
"Stay off your cell phone," he said. "Stay off any other distraction that's going to keep you off your way from scanning the roadway and looking for a potential issue, whether it's a car stopping suddenly or a person or an animal running out in front of you."
