4-year-old boy hit by vehicle trick-or-treating in Pittsburgh-area community

BUTLER, Pa. (KDKA) -- Police are looking for a driver they said hit a 4-year-old boy trick-or-treating in Butler on Tuesday.

Butler police said they were called to Center Avenue to investigate a child who had been hit by a vehicle. Officers said the 4-year-old was taken to a hospital and released with minor injuries. 

Andrew Hawk and his parents were getting candy from houses in his neighborhood around 6 p.m. At one point, he ran to his father to show him what candy he chose. 

"After he got the candy from the house, he was just excited to come back over and show me. He just left his mom for a split second, and when she turned around, she went to reach out for him and that's when the car struck him," said dad John Hawk. 

Andrew's parents say within seconds, a large car came speeding up Center Avenue and hit the 4-year-old.

"I saw him in his little dinosaur costume waving and then I turned and saw the vehicle's headlights and that just -- instant panic," his mom Tiffany Hawk said. 

His parents lunged forward to save him. Luckily, he was left with just a few injuries, though he was shaken up. 

"Terrifying thinking that in a split second we could have lost our son because somebody just didn't want to slow down. Like on every other day, people fly up and down the road, but you would think for at least the holiday, people would slow down," said John Hawk. 

Using surveillance photos, police said they determined that the vehicle allegedly involved is a dark green GMC or Chevrolet SUV. Police shared a photo of what may be the suspect vehicle on Main and Wayne Street at 6:20 p.m. 

Police said they didn't have any other information about the vehicle or driver. Investigators believe that "due to the nature of the incident," the driver may not even know that the child had been hit. 

A neighbor caught it all on his doorbell camera. 

"When I was looking at my cameras, you could hear the kid getting hit, and the way that he hit him, he should have at least pulled over," said neighbor Dylan Miller. 

The Hawk family is grateful nothing else happened but wants the person behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck their kid to come forward. 

"If you know that you hit somebody, I just hope you can come clean about that. I don't understand how you could live with that on your conscious, especially hitting children," said Tiffany Hawk. 

Police are asking any witnesses to call 911 or get in contact with Lt. Rensel at 724-287-7743 ext. 213.