Pasadena residents are still shaken after witnessing a teenage driver run through a crosswalk outside High Point Elementary School and striking a 6-year-old girl Thursday, breaking her leg.
“It was terrible,” said Shirley Fitzsimmons, a Pasadena resident whose granddaughter is a student at High Point, adding that the children who witnessed the accident were all “quite upset.”
The accident occurred on Duvall Highway, the busy road that High Point Elementary sits on. There are uniformed crossing guards who guide children across the road after school, but witnesses said the accident proved no precautions are fool-proof on a busy highway.
Witnesses who saw the accident Thursday said the crossing guard stopped traffic as 6-year-old Brooke Monday crossed the street, but the driver of the car, 17-year-old Alison Hahn, didn?t seem to notice.
The girl was taken to the pediatric unit of Johns Hopkins Hospital after the accident Thursday. She was treated for a broken leg and was discharged Saturday in good condition. Police said charges are still pending in the accident.
The family declined comment.
“These types of accidents can happen anywhere,” said Sgt. Shawn Urbas, spokesman for the county police. ” I have seem them in residential neighborhoods, and I have seen them on Ritchie Highway.”
“It appears that this woman wasn?t paying attention,” Urbas said, adding excessive speed was not a factor in the accident.
Young drivers ages 16 to 20 cause about one-fifth of Maryland?s accidents yearly, according to State Highway Administration spokeswoman Kellie Boulware.
To give teen drivers more experience, state lawmakers recently increased the number of hours teens must drive with a permit and the length of time they must have the permit before they are issued a license.
At a glance
Pedestrian-related accidents in Anne Arundel County:
» 2002: 160 accidents, 7 fatalities
» 2003: 181 accidents, 7 fatalities
» 2004: 165 accidents, 7 fatalities
» 2005: 148 accidents, 1 fatality
» 2006 (Up to Feb. 28): 22 accidents, no fatalities
? Source: Anne Arundel
County Police
