Parents demand crossing guard after boy hit by car

A 15-year-old boy who was struck by a car on his way to school Monday morning in El Centro, is expected to make a full recovery.

The boy’s mother says he has several fractures on his back, as well as scrapes and bruises that the doctors are treating.

Local parents are upset about the incident and are urging the city of El Centro to add a crossing guard at the intersection where the boy was hit.

Parents we spoke to say drivers don’t respect the speed limit, and they don’t respect students when they’re trying to cross the busy intersection.

“Cars don’t want to stop,” said Esmirna Valdenebro , El Centro resident.

Valdenebro said she wakes up a few minutes early every morning, just, so she can walk with her daughter and help her cross the intersection of Eighth and Hamilton, an intersection she says is so dangerous her daughter fears crossing it alone.

” They don’t respect the signals, it’s a school zone here. Drivers are in a hurry, and they care more about getting to their jobs on time then to respect the signals, and they cause accidents, ” said Valdenebro .

Valdenebro said a crossing guard at the intersection is needed to ensure student safety. She says about 30 students cross the intersection every morning, but after school that number is much higher.

“I was crying from a distance to know something had happened, as I got closer I saw the boy on the street,” said Beatrice Vasquez, El Centro resident.

Vasquez says it was a scary scene.

” The boy was lying on the street and the paramedics were assisting him. His shoes and hat were here on this side and he had flown across the street at least thirty feet, ” said Vasquez.

The 15-year-old boy is being treated at a hospital in Loma Linda. His mother says he has several back fractures from his fall, but thankfully he was able to walk this morning and is expected to make a full recovery.

This morning, the Imperial County Office of Education workers placed a new sign on the corner of Eighth and Hamilton Street, asking drivers to slow down.

We reached out to the city of El Centro to ask about any potential plans for a crossing guard on the intersection, but we are still waiting to hear back.