HOUSTON – A Houston Independent School District student is in a hospital after getting hit by a pickup truck in north Houston Thursday morning.
It happened at around 7:30 on Jensen Drive near Bennington. The child was walking with a group of students to nearby Roderick Paige Elementary School. Police say he was trying to catch up with his brother when he went through an opening in the guardrail and ran onto Jensen Drive. Police say the driver of a white pickup truck tried to stop, but it was too late.
“The kids were surrounding his body, trying to help him,” said Janiecea Lockett, a student who lives in the area.
“His mom showed up and she started saying, ‘My baby, my baby is on the ground!’” said Jamarques Watson, who saw the accident.
The boy suffered injuries to his head and was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. His condition has not been released.
Parents say they often see kids crossing in the middle of the street or using the nearby railroad tracks to get across Jensen Drive. There is no sidewalk that leads to the light at the intersection of Jensen Drive and Bennington Street.
“The school doesn’t provide transportation, so they have to do what they have to do,” parent Arnita Lockett said.
Lockett says she would like to see more warning signs put up along Jensen Drive telling drivers to slow down.
The school is about 0.7 miles from where the accident happened.
The driver of the pickup was cited for driving without a driver’s license.