Give them a brake in school zones
Scary moments after girl struck while crossing in front of King George Public School; drivers can still legally turn when pedestrians are halfway through an intersection
A family in East City is urging drivers to take extra caution in school zones after a car hit their daughter Wednesday.
Abby Petrauskas, 10, was struck after school while crossing the street near King George Public School.
The Grade 5 student had the right of way, but the driver didn’t see her while attempting to make a left turn.
Abby’s friend managed to get out of the way when she saw the car approaching, but Abby was looking the other way.
The pair was heading west on the north side of Hunter Street. They’d stayed after school to play on the playground, so the crossing guard had already left. It happened just after 4 p.m.
Abby’s mom, Melissa Petrauskas, was still on the playground at King George with her younger daughter. She’d recently started letting Abby walk home with her friend after school.
When a mom ran up to Petrauskas to she was needed immediately, she assumed her daughter had fallen because Abby often walks along the brick wall at the edge of the school.
But when Petrauskas got to the street corner, she saw her daughter sitting on the corner, not moving.
After being struck, Abby got up and walked to the sidewalk. Another mother, who’d seen what happened, told Abby to sit down. She was complaining that her back hurt.
When Petrauskas reached her daughter, Abby looked up at her mother apologizing through her tears.
“She was crying and said, ‘I’m sorry, mom’ as if it was her fault,” Petrauskas said. “‘I was looking the other way. I’m sorry, mom,’” Abby told her mother.
Petrauskas reassured her daughter that she hadn’t done anything wrong.
By the time the ambulance arrived, Petrauskas still hadn’t seen her daughter move, nor did she notice her moving in the ambulance. It wasn’t until the nurses removed Abby’s clothes at the hospital that she saw movement.
“When they took her shoes off and her little feet moved, that was really good to see,” Petrauskas said, beginning to cry.
An ultrasound and X-rays were taken, but there was a bit of a wait before the X-ray was read.
“That was a hard wait,” the mother of three said.
Abby didn’t suffer any major injuries, but has tissue damage. She spent the day at home Thursday, returning to school Friday.
Because Abby doesn’t remember exactly what happened and witnesses weren’t able to see much, Petrauskas wishes she’d been there to know what happened – though maybe it was for the best that she wasn’t.
“I don’t know if it’s a blessing that I didn’t see it.”
The driver, an older woman, got out of the car immediately and was visibly shaken, Petrauskas said. City police weren’t able to comment on whether or not the driver of the vehicle was charged.
Petrauskas said she felt “pure fear” when she saw Abby sitting on the curbside.
“It’s what we all fear, as a mom,” she said, crying.
The East City mom later learned it’s legal for drivers to turn if pedestrians are halfway through an intersection.
“Which boggles my mind, and in a school zone?”
Petrauskas would like to see that law changed, at least in school zones during school hours.
In the meantime, she wants to remind drivers to slow down and have patience.
“Kids have to be more important than the hurry you’re in.”