A vehicle struck and killed a 9-year-old boy outside of the Rosel Fann Recreation Center in southeast Atlanta Tuesday evening. The accident occurred at about 6:30 PM, and the vehicle that struck the child fled the scene. The boy was transported to an area hospital in critical condition and later died as a result of the severity of his injuries.
Late Tuesday evening, investigators were working to gather a vehicle description and a video of the vehicle to share with the public. They also made a plea that anyone having information about the driver contact the Atlanta Police Department Accident Investigations Unit.
According to the Children’s Safety Network, more than 67,000 children in the U.S. are injured in pedestrian accidents, and around 700 are killed each year. 36 percent of child pedestrian accidents occur between the hours of 3-7 pm, after children are out of school and during the time in which the sun goes down.
Boys account for 66 percent of all child pedestrian deaths, and child pedestrian accidents are most likely to occur in dense, low-income, urban residential areas.
In a study by the AAA Foundation, researchers noted that about 20 percent of pedestrian accidents involve a driver who has fled the scene before exchanging information with or rendering aid to the injured party. In accidents involving a child pedestrian between the ages of 6 to 15, the hit-and-run driver is identified around 60 percent of the time, a significantly higher rate of identification than that of accidents involving an adult pedestrian.
A driver is more likely to flee the scene if the accident occurred in low-lighting conditions or in less visible areas.
For instance, a man was arrested for a second time after the victim died of hit-and-run injuries. Additionally, another hit-and-run driver injured an 8-year-old child in Atlanta, highlighting the frequency and severity of these incidents.
If your child was injured or killed in a pedestrian accident, an experienced personal injury and wrongful death lawyer from Cambre & Associates can tell you about the legal process you can use to seek compensation for the costs and impacts of the injury or loss. Contact us for a free case evaluation. Moreover, it’s crucial to be aware that pedestrian deaths have spiked in Georgia, underlining the importance of safety measures and legal recourse.