2 Wheeler High School students struck by car

COBB COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Malik Spellman loves basketball and hopes to play the sport for many years. But his family is concerned about the injuries he sustained after he was struck by a 73-year-old Mercedes-Benz driver the evening of March 9.

Cobb County Police Officer Neil Penirelli said Spellman was one of two teenagers in the crosswalk in front of Wheeler High School around 7 p.m.

"As the individuals crossed into the northbound lanes, they were both struck," said Officer Penirelli. "They were both transported to the hospital one with serious injuries. The other with life-threatening injuries."

The Spellmans confirm it was Malik who suffered those life-threatening injuries. He's been recovering at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite since he was transferred from a Cobb County hospital.

Authorities have not released the name of the other teen who was struck in the crosswalk. Police said the signs in the area are hard to miss.

"There is a long field of view and the signs are clearly marked," the officer said.

That's why the Spellman family has a lot of questions for the driver--identified by police as 73-year-old Nancy Valentine, of Marietta.

Witnesses told police she was driving northbound on Holt Road and investigators said she never slowed down as she approached the crosswalk where Malik and his friend were walking.

Police said Valentine stopped after she hit the boys. According to investigators, she will be charged pending the outcome of their investigation.