Neighbors Outraged After Girl,12, Hit In Dangerous Sacramento Intersection

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Police are investigating after a 12-year-old girl was hit by a teenage driver at a dangerous intersection in the Land Park area Tuesday.

Neighbors said they're outraged to see this happen at a crosswalk off Sutterville Road that they've warned city officials about for years. Many are distraught to see a little girl hit at an intersection they know is hazardous.

"Our hearts and prayers are with that little girl. This has happened too many times on this crosswalk," said Barbara Ramirez.

As Land Park resident Victor Muro tried to cross the street Tuesday morning, cars sped in front of him.

"You'll get out there and they'll come flying by and you'll get this type of motion that they didn't see you," he said.

Sacramento Police said the 12-year-old girl was hit just before 8 a.m. She's now in the hospital with serious injuries. Neighbors believe she was biking to a school nearby.

"A lot of kids ride their bikes and that's a horrible time in the morning because the sun is right in your eyes and you cannot see those flashing lights," Ramirez said.

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Within blocks of this crossing area, there are at least seven schools and neighbors said kids are using this crosswalk all the time to get back and forth. They want to see more done. Ashley Pydar said she's tried, but doesn't think city officials tale the issue seriously.

"They just say 'oh well, we'll put a radar up and maybe that will help slow people down,' but that's not a permanent fix. There needs to be speed bumps, a stop sign, or a stoplight," Pydar said.

Land Park Neighborhood Association President Mitch Rohrer said a stoplight or stop sign would be ideal. He said he talked to the city many times about it, but the bottom line is, the funding isn't there to get it done. In the meantime, neighbors feel left to fend for themselves.

"It's on the pedestrian. You're the one that's going to get injured the most. They're in a car, nothings going to happen to them," Muro said.

Police said the 17-year-old driver who hit the girl remained on the scene Tuesday morning and cooperated with the investigation.