Young pedestrian injured in accident

Published 4:29 pm Tuesday, August 2, 2011

A Thorsby boy was injured in an accident Monday as he attempted to cross U.S. Highway 31.

The boy, 11, was struck by a southbound car at 12:49 p.m. as he tried to cross from the west side of 31 to Dari Delite. The driver swerved to avoid hitting the child, according to police reports.

“[The boy] actually ran into the right front side of the car,” said Thorsby Assistant Police Chief Rick Simmons. “[The driver] hit the brakes and swerved left.”

The 11-year-old reportedly suffered a fracture of the foot and was transported by ambulance to Children’s of Alabama.

Simmons said there were at least four witnesses who all basically said the same thing. No one has been charged with a crime.

“This man did nothing wrong,” Simmons said of the driver.

Simmons indicated other children have crossed the road recently near the same spot, where there is no signal or crosswalk.

“We’re having a big problem with that,” he said. “I’ve gotten on to a few of them. They should cross at the light.”

The painting of new crosswalks on 31 in Thorsby’s business district could help alleviate the problem, Simmons said.