The child was hit around 9pm Tuesday by a pizza delivery driver at Gessner near Eddystone. And while police call it a tragic accident, residents worry it won't be the last.
Day and night, there's a lot of pedestrian traffic on and across that part of Gessner. And at night, there's only one street light near the intersection where the middle school student was fatally injured.
"Now it's scary to know a boy got hit by a car and everything," neighbor Jacob Garcia said.
Just before 9pm, Luis Martinez was fatally injured when he was struck by a pizza delivery car. He, his grandmother and two-year-old cousin were walking across the road after dark.
"In a non-designated crosswalk area, the driver didn't see them until the last second when he hit the 14-year-old male. Speed does not appear to be a factor at this time," HPD officer A. Michon said.
Martinez later died at a hospital.
During the day, pedestrians are clearly visible. But at night, those who walk across the street say it's different. Only one street lamp is at the intersection, and people can get lost in the shadows.
"There's really bad lighting there and that's always been a problem. You can't really see a face until they're about 20 feet away from you and then you make can make out a face when you're crossing that street there," neighbor Carlos Quiroa said.
The boy's family was understandably too distraught to talk. He was a student at Westchester Middle School, and his death has a lot of people rethinking how safe it is to walk at night there.
At this point, we're told that no ticket has been issued against the driver. However the case is still being investigated.
