Kids recovering after crosswalk collision

ALOHA, Ore. - The three youths who were struck at a dangerous Tualatin Valley Highway crosswalk Sunday evening are recovering Monday.

However, the mother of the 10 and 14 year olds said her oldest will face months of physical therapy because of the head injury suffered when the teen reportedly "hit the car hard enough to fly over it," according to a witness at the scene.

The 5:17 p.m. Sunday accident temporary closed the eastbound lanes on Tualatin Valley Highway through Beaverton at 178th Avenue.

This intersection, which borders Aloha, has a reputation for being dangerous and was the subject of a KATU investigation in July. In May, a man was hit so hard by a car at that intersection that witnesses reported he was catapulted and did a cartwheel in the air. On July 4, a 15-year-old boy was launched from the crosswalk into the median. 

Dangerous intersection
Police say the pedestrians in Sunday evening's accident were crossing in the marked walk when a vehicle failed to see them in time to stop. The car hit all three children.

A 10-year-old girl was barely hit, suffering only minor injuries including road rash. Her brother, a 14-year-old boy, suffered critical injuries and was seen in a neck brace at the scene. As of Monday he was in intensive care.

Their 13-year-old neighbor, a girl, also suffered critical injuries. The older two children reportedly hit the car hard enough to fly over it, according to a witness at the scene.

Firefighters say the three were wearing dark clothing, however the mother of two of the children disputes that. "My kids weren’t wearing dark clothing," Jennifer Ramos said. "My son was wearing a white top, and my daughter was wearing a white and light-blue jacket."

Ramos also said that she is angry the driver was not the one who call 9-1-1 and instead, she said, scolded the children for crossing the street without making sure all cars were stopped first. 

All three youths were taken to area hospitals by ambulance.

Driver just couldn't see
KATU Reporter Meghan Kalkstein was first to the scene. She spoke to a witness at the scene Sunday night.

The vehicle was reportedly driving only about 35 miles per hour, in the dark, down this stretch of unlighted road. The speed limit for that stretch is posted at 35 miles per hour. Three lanes of traffic, east and westbound, had stopped at the intersection for the children to cross, but deputies said a fourth car - in the second eastbound lane - drove right through the crosswalk.

Kalkstein spoke to the driver who remained, distraught, at the scene: "I didn't see these kids," said driver Cecilio Venegas. "They were running in the street, and I tried to stop as fast as I could but I couldn't stop."

Deputies say Venegas was cited for passing a stopped vehicle at a crosswalk.

While other intersections on TV Highway have blinking lights to warn of on-coming intersections, this one at 178th Avenue has none. Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson Christine Miles told KATU Reporter Thom Jensen that this crosswalk is scheduled for signal construction in 2012. However, a signal "could be built sooner," Miles said, "if the state can find funding for the project."