Two Oak Creek High School students have been hospitalized after they were hit by a car driven by a school staff member Wednesday.
Students who witnessed the crash described a horrific scene.
“I was on my bus, and I saw one of the girls laying in the street with blood on the ground,” said Yacoub Atshan, a senior at Oak Creek High School. “I also saw the teacher putting his hand on his forehead, looking scared and upset. I heard one of the girls wasn’t responsive, and the other one was awake. They got the ambulance here quickly, and hopefully they’re going to be okay.”
“The teacher seemed really heartbroken about it,” said Malik Hasan, a senior at Oak Creek High School. “He was crying at the scene. He didn’t seem well. He’s a brand new teacher here. I can’t imagine what was going through his head.”
This is a nightmare for everyone involved. The two girls that were hit were both rushed to local hospitals.
A backpack and other belongings sat on the side of the road for hours after the crash.
Extra counselors were brought in to help students process what happened.
“The principal was walking all around school, seeing how students were doing,” said Iheb Chabbouh, a student at Oak Creek High School.
Investigators are not yet saying exactly what went wrong. There are marked crosswalks, but the area around the school can be very busy. This accident is prompting both drivers and students to think twice.
“I knew sooner or later something like this was going to happen,” said Ron Grundy, who lives nearby. “I often thought about going to the police and asking what more can be done. You have cars driving too fast through here, and you have kids crossing the road carelessly, without even looking both ways. There has to be a lesson learned by everyone with this one.”
People who live nearby say many of the cars come through too quickly, and many students cross carelessly. A lot of students park in the Pick-N-Save parking lot and walk across the street to get to class.
“There are a lot of kids around here before and after school,” Atshan said. “A lot of them park in the Pick N Save lot and cross the street to get to school. But there are also a lot of cars and buses. We all have to watch closer. Nothing like this has happened before.”
