An 8-year-old boy was clipped by a car Wednesday morning while he was in a crosswalk headed to Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary School.
According to police, Kaelie Fuoss, 17, of Ethan, was arrested for reckless driving and failing to report or stop at an injury accident. Sgt. Ryan Erickson with the Mitchell Police Division said that at about 8:05 a.m., Fuoss’ 1999 Chevy Malibu struck the child at approximately 25 mph and caused him minor injuries. The boy is sore, but OK, according to authorities.
Fuoss was driving south on Kimball Street in the school zone at GBR when the boy was in the crosswalk with the crossing guard. Her windows were frosted over and she could not see the crossing guard or the boy, said Erickson. The crossing guard was not struck.
Erickson and Mitchell Superintendent Joe Graves declined to released the student’s name.
Fuoss apparently did not know she hit the child, but her passenger thought they might have, Erickson said.
Immediately after the incident occurred, the boy’s father made sure his son was all right, and then followed Fuoss to the Mitchell Career and Technical Education Academy parking lot across the street from Mitchell High School.
The father confronted Fuoss about the incident, Erickson said, and called law enforcement. Fuoss faces two misdemeanor charges. She was booked and released from the Davison County Jail on Wednesday.
Mitchell Superintendent Joe Graves said it’s rare students in Mitchell are struck by vehicles in school zones. The last time it happened, Graves recalled, was about eight years ago by L.B. Williams Elementary.
“A student was clipped by a car and was not even sore from it,” he said of the incident eight years ago. “That student was crossing the street and the driver could not see the child because of the child’s height.”
At GBR on Wednesday morning, however, the child was in plain sight, Graves said, within the crosswalk and the crossing guard had his stop sign raised.
“The student did everything right in this situation,” Graves said. “He crossed at the crosswalk and he listened to the crossing guard. Still that doesn’t guarantee things won’t go wrong. You still have to be aware of your surroundings.”
Graves and Erickson gave advice for drivers going through school zones -- slow down and make sure your windows are clear. School zone speed limits are 15 mph at each school in Mitchell. Erickson stressed drivers also need to be aware of the flashing signal lights.
