ST. GEORGE — A 6-year-old boy entering a school crosswalk near Little Valley Elementary School Friday morning was struck and injured by a vehicle as it turned in front of him.
Shortly after 8:30 a.m., the boy was walking to school with his older brother. As the pair headed east on Crimson Ridge Drive a 2012 Nissan Armada was traveling west toward the intersection of Crimson Ridge Drive and South Little Valley Road.
The driver, a 43-year-old woman, attempted to make a right-hand turn onto South Little Valley Road just as the two boys were entering the crosswalk, St. George Police Public Information Officer Lona Trombley said.
The 6-year-old was struck by the Nissan’s bumper as the driver was making the turn. The boy was thrown back from the impact before landing on the ground, according to the initial investigation’s findings, Trombley said.
The child’s older brother ran the short distance home to advise his parents who then rushed to the intersection just as emergency medical personnel and officers arrived.
“He was very smart and brave,” Trombley said, “as he immediately ran home after the incident, alerted the parents and brought them to the scene to help his younger brother.”
The injured child was being treated by EMS at the scene “for a split lip, road rash and was complaining of abdominal pain,” Trombley said. The child was immediately transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center by his parents for evaluation.
“The woman driving was cited for failure to yield at a school crosswalk,” Trombley said, “and as with any traffic-related citation the penalties can increase depending upon the severity of injury to the victim.”
The St. George police Department, the St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded to the scene and tended to the injured child.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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All Schools need to have “Speed Bumps”…. that way these stupid people have to slow down, or fly through their own windshield…..
Your comment doesn’t make any sense in this particular situation. It was a 4 way stop. The driver clearly stopped before proceeding to make a right hand turn. They driver just didn’t see the small children crossing the cross walk because she was driving a tall SUV and the kids were too short to see. I’m not saying it wasn’t the drivers fault, but your comment is pretty harsh and would have done nothing in this situation. I know the family of the boy who was struck and luckily he will be fine. The bigger problem is a lack of cross walk guards here and the shear amount of traffic through this intersection at that time. Hopefully this can be resolved to prevent future incidents like this.