Mission — 9-Year-Old Girl Injured After Hit-and-Run Accident
Posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2019 at 10:19 pm
On Wednesday morning, January 30, 2019, a 9-year-old girl was injured after being struck by a vehicle in North Mission.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers, this auto-pedestrian accident occurred on La Homa Road and 8 Mile Line Road at approximately 6:45 in the morning. The young girl was crossing La Homa Road to board the school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing and stop arm activated to load up students. Just as she was crossing, a white Nissan 4-door passenger vehicle, driven by a man possibly in his 30s, hit the girl with its front.
The driver fled the scene while the girl was brought to McAllen Medical and was initially in critical condition, suffering a leg injury. Thankfully, her condition has become stable lately.
It is great news to hear that the 9-year-old girl is now in stable condition after this accident. Unfortunately, there are countless other victims who are not as lucky. Vehicular accidents like this happen quite often nowadays. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car accidents happen almost every minute of every day, and for every 16 minutes, a car accident occurs that results in death. This can be translated to roughly about 6 million car accidents every year and 90 people dying in car accidents every day in the U.S. alone.
But car accidents are even more deadly for pedestrians. According to the estimates from the the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the number of pedestrian deaths in the United States is 6,000 in 2017. The number rose by 27% from 2007 to 2016, and it is said that the number in 2017 is a 25-year high.
Moreover, 5 states — California, Florida, New York, Arizona, and Texas — accounted for about 43% of pedestrian fatalities during the first half of 2017 even though they are home to only 30% of the U.S. population. The GHSA also reports that children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to this kind of accident.
Additionally, a particular kind of vehicular accident that is also fairly common is a hit-and-run, and this kind of accident is undeniably dreadful. According to a study done by roadside-assistance giant AAA, 2,049 hit-and-run deaths happened in 2016 — the highest annual total on record — and in the decade that led up to that peak, there were about 682,000 crashes that occurred each year in which the driver fled the scene.
Texas is reported to be the 8th worst state for hit-and-run fatalities, a fact that is terrifying and needs to be changed.
If you are a victim of a car/auto-pedestrian/hit-and-run accident, or you know someone who is, or you lost a loved one because of this, then please don’t hesitate to ask for help. The police will always be there to help you, but more than that, car accident lawyers, especially those who specialize in auto-pedestrian/hit-and-run accidents, are always willing to help you in protecting your rights and getting you the justice that you deserve.
