A Jeep struck a 13-year-old girl crossing the street from a park to her home Wednesday night in the Northeast Hazel Dell area, breaking her leg. The driver did not stop to help.
Clark County deputies are looking for the dark gray Jeep of an unknown model with a faded front panel, said Sgt. Tim Bieber. The driver is believed to be a white man in his mid-30s, Bieber said.
Deputies were dispatched at about 7:10 p.m. to the 3000 block of Northeast 88th Street for a report of a hit-and-run with injuries.
Nicole Oana said her daughter, Halie, had been playing at Tenny Creek Neighborhood Park with her 12-year-old brother, Mason. They were crossing the road to return home when Halie was hit, Oana said.
Bieber said investigators believe the driver did not see the kids walking in the street and swerved into the center median but was unable to avoid hitting the girl with the vehicle’s front quarter panel.
Oana was at home preparing dinner when some neighborhood kids knocked on her door and told her what happened. Mason stayed with his sister while they delivered the news, she said.
“When I got there, (Halie) was conscious and crying,” Oana said in a Facebook message. “A neighbor said she thought it was two cars that hit each other because it was a loud crash.”
Halie was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and transferred to Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, according to her mother.
The girl has many bumps and bruises, and doctors say her right tibia has a spiral fracture for which they recommend surgery.
“She’s doing a lot better. She’s in a lot of pain,” Oana said, adding that Mason was very upset by seeing his sister injured.
A witness told deputies they saw the Jeep driving erratically before the incident. The suspect vehicle was also seen driving on the wrong side of Northeast 88th Street, Bieber said.
Traffic investigators continue to collect information.
