Two pedestrian students attending school in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District were struck by vehicles in separate incidents in mid-January, prompting the district to reach out to the city about potentially securing new crosswalk areas.
The first collision occurred on Jan. 23, when a 17-year-old Santa Maria High School senior was walking to school. A car backed onto the sidewalk and accidentally ran over the girl at the intersection of Camino Colegio and Miller, according to a news release from the Santa Maria Police Department.
The news release said the girl sustained major injuries. She was initially transported to Marian Medical Center, and then went to Cottage Hospital and eventually Stanford Hospital, where she saw a specialist, according to school district Public Information Officer Kenny Klein.
“Her parents told us that the recovery’s going to be lengthy, so she probably won’t be returning to school this year,” Klein told the Sun. “Which is kind of tragic because she’s a senior.”
Sgt. Duane Schneider from the police department said the girl is in stable condition, though he didn’t know specifics about her injuries. The case is still under investigation and no charges have been pressed.
The next incident took place three days later, on Jan. 26, when a sophomore at Pioneer Valley High School was struck by a vehicle on Panther Drive. She was crossing the street in front of the school on her way home.
Schneider said the girl was crossing the street illegally and that she had “darted out,” putting her at fault for the collision.
“You have to use due regard,” Schneider said. “You don’t just step out.”
The girl’s injuries were minor, though Klein said she may have sustained a concussion. The district reached out to city transit “to figure out how to improve safety in front of the school,” Klein said.
David Beas from Santa Maria’s Engineering Division said the city would investigate the incident and determined if a crosswalk is warranted at the location where the girl was hit.
“My understanding is that’s what the school district is looking for, because they have pedestrians that cross right there,” Beas said. “We don’t want to put crosswalks where they’re not warranted. We don’t want to give people a false sense of security, like, ‘There’s a crosswalk there, so I’m safe.’”
Schneider said that while drivers should be cognizant of high-congestion areas, most of the recent pedestrian-vehicle collisions in Santa Maria have been at the pedestrians’ fault.
“We’ve had other young people get struck this last week, and all of them were not in crosswalks or using intersections properly,” he said, acknowledging the exception for the girl who was hit while on the sidewalk.
Klein said parents and students should stick with the designated school drop-off and loading zones at all times to avoid these kinds of risks.
“Take extra time, be patient, and refrain from talking on your phone, having headphones on, texting,” Klein said. “Those kinds of things can put you in jeopardy when you’re coming to and from school. You can’t assume that motorists are going to see you at a crosswalk or crossing the street.”
This article appears in Feb 2-9, 2017.