North Hills Middle School Student Struck By Vehicle, Transported To Hospital

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WEST VIEW (KDKA) -- A 12-year-old girl from West View was hit by a car in a crosswalk on her way to her school bus Monday morning.

Now police are calling for possible changes to that North Hills School District bus stop and residents are urging motorists to slow down, especially when kids are heading to school.

The young student is going to be OK.

However, it was a frightening morning for the 7th grader, her mom, dad and her friends who witnessed the accident at the bus stop along busy Highland Avenue.

They say despite the 12-year-old using the crosswalk and wearing a brightly colored coat and backpack, she was still hit and cars need to pay attention and slow down.

West View Police say Daylight Saving Time may have contributed to the accident as many students walked to their buses in the dark Monday morning.

"The driver stated that he was blinded by the oncoming headlights of another vehicle," Lieutenant Matt Holland of the West View Borough Police said.

Grant Matthews, the young girl's father, was at his daughter's side directly after the accident.

"She told me that when she was starting to cross she saw the car coming down," Matthews said.

Matthews lived every parent's worst nightmare Monday morning.

"When I heard that she got hit, your brain is just spinning," he said.

His little girl, 12-year-old Sophia Matthews, was hit by a car heading to her school bus around 7:20 a.m. at the busy intersection of Highland and Jamaica Avenues in West View.

Matthews says he was overcome with relief that his little girl wasn't seriously hurt.

"She suffered some abrasions to her head, a large lump to her head, and she also has road rash," Matthews said.

Matthews showed KDKA a picture of the car that hit his daughter. The dent from the impact is visible on the front passenger hood.

Matthews and neighbors say the busy bus intersection can be unforgiving, despite the crosswalk the young student was using.

"This intersection is always a problem with accidents and things of that nature. People come flying down that hill," Matthews said.

Neighbor Melvin Zmuda agrees. He lives at the corner of the intersection.

"Most of them you see, mothers come with their children in hand, waiting there, and nobody will stop they just keep on going, rolling down the hill," Zmuda said.

West View Police are still investigating and so far have not filed charges. In the meantime, the girl's parents are rethinking safety all together.

The girl's parents, neighbors and police all plan on addressing changing the bus stop with the North Hills School District by asking to move the stop to the next block where there is a crossing guard.

Both West View as well as neighboring Ross Township have a shortage of needed crossing guards.