12-year-old badly injured while helping brother cross street
SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) -- A 12-year-old student from Fort Bend Independent School District is slowly recovering after getting hit by the passenger side view mirror of a car as she tried to help her brother cross the street.
The accident happened the morning of Aug. 28 at the intersection of Main Street and Lakeview.
"She was preparing to cross the street and saw the (Chevy) Tahoe coming and stepped into the bike lane and the side mirror hit her," said Lacey Smith, the mother of the injured girl.
Brooklyn was helping her younger brother cross the street to get to school at the time.
The impact, according to Lacey, lifted her daughter into the air, causing a very deep gash on the girl's forehead.
Brooklyn was rushed to Texas Children's Hospital and received three layers of stitches, according to her mom.
The girl is now recovering at home while Lacey demands a stop sign be installed at the intersection, a move her neighbor supports.
"I'm extremely angry, and that something like this had to happen in order for there to even be talk about a stop sign," said Hallie Filis, a neighbor whose child walks to school with Lacey's children.
According to the Sugar Land Police Department, officers increased patrol in that area following the accident and the city confirms they have received a request for a stop sign installation at that intersection, and are now moving forward with an evaluation. The department's data indicates the last accident to occur in that area was in 2017.
As for the driver, the department states they were not speeding and did not have enough time to stop before, several witnesses claim, Brooklyn stepped into the street, allegedly without looking.
Lacey says her daughter was standing in the bike lane portion of the crosswalk and should not have been hit.
Red and white signs reading, "Drive like your kids live here," now dot several yards along Main Street.
"You know, just pay attention. It's 30 miles per hour," Lacey said. "No one goes that speed limit, they're always going faster."
