According to Dallas Police Department, a child was killed and three others were injured Thursday afternoon when a truck hit them near Felix G. Botello Elementary School in Oak Cliff.
The incident took at around 3:30 p.m. on the 200 block of South Marsalis Avenue, right off Interstate 35E.
Dallas Fire-Rescue transported the injured to a hospital. Dallas Independent School District officials verified that the three youngsters, a 12-year-old boy and two 8-year-old girls, attended the school. One of the children died from his injuries. The other two are in critical but stable condition at Children’s Medical Centre. The adult is in stable condition.
Officials claimed the crash occurred just after school was dismissed.
According to police, the elderly driver remained at the site and is participating with the investigation. Authorities do not believe that speed was a factor.
Andrea Williams, a neighbourhood resident, recalled the incident with obvious emotion.
“When I got out of the car I saw all the blood and the babies’ clothes, and I put two and two together,” Williams recounted. “Summer hasn’t even started and things like this happen, and as a parent it just worries you.”
Brian Evans, another neighbour, expressed regret but no surprise.
“I’m very saddened by it, but I’m not surprised,” Evans told the crowd. “There’s children always crossing the street going to the apartment complex.”
Evans recalled a recent near-miss in the same spot.
“It was a young gentleman walking across the street with two little girls – and literally two children almost got hit,” he told me. “The car had to stop immediately.”
As the town mourns, residents are calling for additional safety precautions and urge cars and pedestrians to be extremely cautious, particularly near schools.
