A driver hit a junior high student crossing the street Tuesday morning, causing critical injuries to the teen, police said.
The 13-year-old boy, who is a seventh grade student at John F. Kennedy Junior High School, had been dropped off by his mother on the west side of 4800 West at about 4500 South, across the street from the school, said West Valley City spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku.
The teen ran across the southbound lanes safely, but was hit by a northbound car about 7:30 a.m. The driver told police she did not see the teen, who was not in a crosswalk, according to Vainuku.
The teen was originally thought to be in serious condition with injuries that were not life-threatening, but once he arrived at the hospital, doctors found the boy had head trauma and downgraded his condition to critical, or life-threatening.
After surgery, the teen was put into a medically induced coma, Granite School District announced on Twitter.
“The next 24 hours will be critical,” the district tweeted.
West Valley City police said that after the surgery, the child was considered to be in stable condition.
Granite School District also tweeted shortly after the crash, asking people to keep the student and his family in their thoughts and prayers.
The crash happened on a morning when much of the Salt Lake Valley was shrouded in a heavy fog. Vainuku said it was hazy near the school at the time of the crash, but there wasn’t a significant impact on visibility and the haze was not a factor in the crash.
The scene was originally cleared by police about an hour after it occurred, Vainuku said, but once the teen’s condition was downgraded, investigators planned to “diagram” the area. The investigation was expected to affect traffic on 4800 West.
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