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Teen struck by hit-and-run driver in Decatur
A Decatur teen is recovering after being struck by a driver in a Decatur school zone on Tuesday morning. It is the latest in a string of pedestrian accidents in city as residents call for action.
DECATUR, Ga. - A group of concerned citizens in Decatur are calling for lower speed limits citywide. The push for more safety measures on city streets comes as police work to identify the hit-and-run driver who struck a student in a city of Decatur school zone early Tuesday morning.
"A driver that hits a young person and just speeds along, it just…it makes me angry," Decatur resident Laura Spriggs told FOX 5.
Spriggs says it’s not the first time she’s felt that anger in learning someone’s life was taken or endangered walking down a Decatur city street.
"In just a few months, we’ve had six pedestrians hit—one of them being fatal," she recalled.
In September, a hit-and-run driver struck a crossing guard. Then in November, four people were hit in separate incidents on the same day—including a 16-year-old who was killed.
Fast-forward to Tuesday morning, Decatur police say someone driving a red Toyota ran a red light hitting a 13-year-old boy, who was in the crosswalk, before taking off.
The incident on Tuesday happened at the intersection of West Howard Ave and Commerce Drive, which sits between Decatur High School and Beacon Hill Middle School.
"Decatur has a large number of school crossings and school children walking to and from school in the mornings and afternoons…hitting a child in a crosswalk is not okay," Decatur Police Sgt. John Bender said.
While police are now looking for the driver, Spriggs and other members of a group called ‘Calm Decatur’ say they’re looking for solutions to make city streets safer.
"The city put in these temporary planters to give students a buffer, so they can walk safely to school and yet—crossing in a crosswalk with the light this student was struck," she told FOX 5.
The group started an online petition in November to lower the citywide speed limit from 35 mph to 25 mph. It’s since gained 750 signatures.
"Twenty miles per hour, 25 miles per hour… if someone struck at that speed, the chance of survival is much greater," Spriggs explained.
City leaders said the change would require a traffic study as well as reviews from GDOT and the Department of Public Safety, but they’re open to it.
While they told FOX 5 it would take more time to complete, they said they’re currently working on several other road safety projects, including plans for a road diet, raised crosswalk intersections and the replacement of those temporary planters along West Howard Avenue.
If you have any information about that driver, reach out to Decatur Police. Calm Decatur is hosting a safety meeting on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Guild + Journeyman on Clairemont Avenue in Decatur and inviting other residents to come out.