October 7, 2024, 10:22 p.m. This story has been updated with information from the Maplewood Police Department.
Two Maplewood Middle School students were struck by a car on Prospect Street near Oakland Road in Maplewood shortly before 8 a.m. on Monday, October 7. One student was transported to the hospital by ambulance, and the driver was issued summonses for failure to yield to pedestrians and careless driving.
The students were part of a MMS “walking group,” one parent reported.
Per a release from the Maplewood Police: “”On Monday October 7, 2024 at approximately 7:52 AM, Maplewood Police Officers responded to the intersection of Prospect Street and Oakland Road on a report of a motor vehicle v pedestrian. After an on-scene investigation, it was determined that a vehicle traveling south on Prospect Street stuck two juvenile pedestrians. One juvenile was transported to area hospital with parent for non-life-threatening injury and the second juvenile’s parent denied medical transport. The driver remained on scene and was issued a summonses for Failure to Yield to Pedestrian and Careless Driving.”
Mayor Nancy Adams is directing residents to attend two upcoming township meetings to voice concerns about traffic/pedestrian safety:
- Engineering, Public Works, and Planning Committee, 8 a.m., Wednesday, October 9
- Public Safety Committee, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday October 9
According to one local resident posting on the Maplewood Moms Facebook group, she “saw two kids hit by a car on Prospect near Oakland. … Their stuff was all over the street. PEOPLE SLOW DOWN AND WATCH FOR KIDS CROSSING STREETS GOING TO SCHOOL!”
Another parent wrote, “I saw it happen and I’m still traumatized by it. I ran to the little girl and called 911, helped her find her phone so she can call her mom. She was in shock and crying, her leg broken. The sick thing is that the woman that hit her, didn’t even care about her well being… didn’t ask, didn’t go to her. She got out of the car and blamed the kids saying they ran out in front of her. I’m so angry about that. … I’m so appalled not only at the amount of traffic on Prospect at these intersections but also how the cars go around cars that stop. I’ve seen so many HS kids on bikes in the bike lane nearly get hit because of this.” [Another parent, whose daughter is a part of the walking group, later posted on SOMA Lounge, that one of the girls who was struck was having surgery for a broken ankle.]
The parent who witnessed the accident added, “We need a crossing guard at every intersection on Prospect that these kids use to get to school and this particular one, Oakland and Prospect is one of those.”
Maplewood Township Committee member Deborah Engel, who has advocated for additional crossing guards, was tagged in the post and replied that she has “asked that we add a conversation to the public safety meeting agenda about whether we need an added crossing guard on Prospect.”
