SNYDER Okla_ A 13-year-old
girl from Snyder is in the intensive care unit in an Oklahoma City hospital after being hit by a
pickup Monday morning.
The accident
happened about 8:30 AM in a crosswalk at the intersection of 13th and 'C' Street
in Snyder. Police say the girl was on her way to school just a few blocks away
when she was hit. Police say an elderly man driving the pickup truck told them
he did not see her.
An official
with Snyder Public Schools said the girl suffered a severe concussion, a broken
leg and a cracked pelvis. One woman said she not only saw the whole thing
unfold right before her eyes; she also stopped to help.
Dianne Janz was
waiting at the stop sign to cross that very intersection.
"It was a
terrifying scene," Janz said. "I just hope no one ever has to witness
that."
She had just
dropped her grandchildren off at school and was going home. She said she saw the
young girl walking north on 'C' Street toward the crosswalk.
"I thought,
‘Boy, she looks happy'," Janz said. "Her hair was swinging, and she was really
happy. I saw that pickup, and I kept thinking, ‘Well he'll stop, ‘he'll stop.'"
Janz said she
saw the young girl walking the crosswalk, with the pickup coming from the east,
not seeming to slow down. Then, the unimaginable happened. The pickup truck hit
the teenage girl. The impact threw her several feet into the air.
Janz said the
pickup truck passed over the young girl, but the tires never actually hit her. She
said she used her car to block oncoming traffic and ran to the girl's side. She
said didn't touch the young girl, who was shaking uncontrollably.
"I kept
telling her, ‘It will be okay, it'll be okay. Just lay still. Lay still,'" Janz
said. "I never could get her to respond to me."
Janz said
another person stopped by, who happened to be an RN at the local hospital, and
they were able to get the girl some help. While she realizes it was an
accident, she believes a change at the intersection can help drivers be more
aware.
"We need
lights just like they have on Main
Street, because this is a busy street," Janz
said.
She said she is
going to talk to Snyder city officials about that. She said it has been brought
up in the past, but never acted on. She said this morning's incident is a good
reason to get it done before another accident happens.
The incident
did not happen in a school zone. Police cited the man, but they are still
investigating to see if anything else played a factor.
