15-year-old boy recovering after being hit by vehicle in McKeesport
A 15-year-old boy was critically injured after being hit by the driver of a vehicle in McKeesport on Tuesday, authorities said.
The Allegheny County Police Department said in a news release that first responders were called around 6:50 p.m. to the intersection of Lysle Boulevard and Coursin Street for reports of a driver hitting a pedestrian. At the scene, officials found that a 15-year-old boy was struck by the vehicle.
The boy's mother told KDKA-TV that her son remains in serious condition at UPMC Children's and is not out of the woods after the accident.
Damien Walker frequently gets on the bus at the stop along Lysle near Coursin, and he remembers when he and his son were nearly struck.
"A pedestrian shouldn't have to worry about a car hitting them," Walker said. "A car just came really fast down the street. If I didn't get to the end real fast, I would have got hit."
It's what Derell Benson Webb's mom told KDKA-TV happened to her son at the intersection Tuesday night.
Allegheny County police said first responders were called there just before 7 p.m., and the driver remained at the scene.
According to investigators, early indications show Benson Webb tried to cross Lysle in front of a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus, when a car traveling in the left lane hit him.
Benson Webb's mom told KDKA-TV that doctors are monitoring her son for swelling, as he remains on a ventilator. Less than 24 hours after the crash, he was able to move his arms and legs. She said her son is active at the teen center at the Boys and Girls Club in McKeesport.
"How are you supposed to protect the children? I'm more worried about the little kids that need to go across the street back and forth, because some drivers just don't care," Walker said.
Walker fears for other kids walking in the area, with the speeding cars.
In looking through archives, KDKA-TV discovered that at least one fatal pedestrian crash has taken place at the intersection in recent years, in 2017, involving a 52-year-old man. The medical examiner ruled his death an accident.
McKeesport city leaders told KDKA-TV that they've recently increased street lighting along Lysle and upgraded the pedestrian buttons to include audible signals.
Walker, though, just hopes folks try to slow down before another person is hit.
"It's like everybody wants to go somewhere but nowhere at the same time," Walker said.
If you have any information about the incident, you're asked to call the County Police Tip Line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
