A driver hit a 16-year-old John Jay High student on Marbach Road, leaving him in critical condition on Tuesday.
SAN ANTONIO — A 16-year-old was crossing Marbach Road around two in the afternoon when police say a driver hit him.
The student is a junior at John Jay High School and as of Wednesday night, he remains in critical condition at the hospital.
Being out at the high school, Wednesday, KENS 5 saw many kids walk across the same part of Marbach where the teen was hit.
Not once, but multiple times, KENS 5 witnessed drivers not stopping for students crossing.
After Tuesday, kids here told KENS 5 they wish drivers would slow down.
A windshield shattered from impact on the F-150 can be seen in a photo provided to KENS 5 by a witness.
“A car drove by fast, and we just saw him hit the windshield and go over the windshield. The car was going so fast it didn’t have time to stop,” classmate Matthew Gonzalez told KENS 5.
Gonzalez and his friends saw it all.
“He was just on the ground – it was sad,” Gonzalez added.
A crowd of people helped the 16-year-old until EMS arrived on the scene.
Just before two p.m. Tuesday, police told us the teen was crossing Marbach Road in front of the high school.
The driver of the F-150 hit the teen, and police say he stopped to help. At last check, the teen is in critical condition at the hospital.
“A lot of drivers be speeding through here,” another student, Cisco Segura, said.
Segura and his classmates know that during the day, a lot of juniors and seniors walk to get lunch.
“An admin should come out and direct everyone,” Gonzalez added.
Gonzalez would like there to be more attention on traffic during the school day.
“Keep your eyes open, got to remember it’s a school zone,” another student said.
Northside ISD initially responded to KENS 5 with the following statement:
Our thoughts are with the student and their family. The well-being of our students and staff is our highest priority. The school community was notified about the accident, and professional school counselors are available to provide support to any students who may need it.
For juniors and seniors with parental permission, off-campus lunch is an option. To help with student safety, a crosswalk is in place and campus staff are present each day to monitor as students leave and return. The student involved in this tragic accident had utilized the designated crosswalk and school staff responded immediately following the accident. These current precautions will continue and the campus will be providing additional safety reminders to students.
When asked about there being no staff directing traffic during the day, and cars passing students trying to cross the crosswalk, NISD responded with the following:
The campus does have staff who help in supervising and monitoring on campus. However, there are no staff assigned as crossing guards during lunch.
The choice to leave campus during lunch is one that is made by the student and with the permission of their parent or guardian. The campus will continue to reinforce to students the importance of safety if the choice is made to leave during lunch.