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Boy darts into busy road at bus stop, is seriously hurt
By
Jan Wesner, Times Staff Writer
In print: Friday, August 29, 2008
Hillsborough sheriff’s investigators work the scene of an accident Thursday at 1221 Valrico Road, in front of the Town and Country Mobile Home Park, where 10-year-old Christian Gonzalez was critically injured.
VALRICO — Pam Deems was getting her two daughters ready for school about 7:30 a.m. Thursday when she got a phone call from her best friend and neighbor, Amber Gonzalez.
Gonzalez's 10-year-old son, Christian, had been hit by a car at a school bus stop on the busy street in front of their mobile home park at 1221 Valrico Road.
Deems ran to the bus stop.
"Christian was lying on the ground facedown," Deems said about an hour later.
The boy, a fourth-grader at Valrico Elementary School, was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital.
He was hit by a 2001 PT Cruiser when he chased a small, yellow rubber ball into traffic on Valrico Road, a Hillsborough County sheriff's report said.
"Right now it appears to be an accident," J.D. Callaway, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said Thursday afternoon.
Callaway said charges were not expected against the driver, Carlos Garcia, 65, of 333 Brandywine Drive in Valrico.
Christian's parents asked that no information be released about his condition, Tampa General spokeswoman Ellen Fiss said.
Earlier, sheriff's Cpl. Michael Cherup Jr. told reporters at the scene that Christian suffered head injuries that could be life threatening.
The bus stop is on Valrico Road between State Road 60 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
It's a busy, two-lane thoroughfare lined with trees. Cars zoom by at 45 mph or more.
"They fly down here," said Deems, manager of the mobile home park. "It's not good for (the kids) to have to stand out there."
Deems said she asked Valrico Elementary School principal Mary Knox last year why the stop wasn't inside the neighborhood.
Deems said Knox told her it was up to the county to place bus stops.
Deems didn't call the county, and school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said she hadn't heard of any complaints about that stop.
The district has come under criticism this year and last from parents for changes that moved some bus stops out of neighborhoods and on to main streets.
The Valrico Road stop, however, has been in the same location for five years, Cobbe said.
Robin DeHate, who lives in a subdivision down the road and passes the stop almost daily, said she often sees unattended children playing dangerously close to Valrico Road.
"They're running and goofing off here right on the street," DeHate said.
She said putting the bus stop there was a bad decision.
Neighbors said Christian is a nice boy who helped Deems with tasks around the park.
Meanwhile, Knox and counselors at Valrico Elementary talked to students throughout the day Thursday, especially the fourth-graders.
Three mothers who gathered at the bus stop Thursday afternoon said Knox had personally called them.
The school's safety officer followed the bus Thursday afternoon. At Christian's stop, he got out of the car and helped 11 kids off the bus. Most walked home alone.
Jan Wesner can be reached at jwesner@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2439.
[Last modified: Sep 02, 2008 06:49 PM]
Comments on this article
by a friend
Sep 2, 2008 6:49 PM
Keep in mind, regardless if there was a parent " at the stop" or not, sometimes kids will be kids. We know the dangers around us but kids are still learning. Don't be so harsh on the parents. Their baby is fighting for his life. Keep praying for him.
by Lia
Sep 2, 2008 2:35 PM
At my son's stop there are several 9 year old children whose parents leave for work almost 2 hours before the kids leave for school. These boys get themselves ready and off to school. Sad, but reality.
by Chip
Aug 31, 2008 8:56 AM
This was a senseless incident. If it was so dangerous, why was there no adult present to keep the kids from running into the street? You can bet some slimeball will try to line their their pockets with school district money on this one.
by Laurie
Aug 31, 2008 8:56 AM
I witnessed this accident. It was tragically brought on by the impulsive decision of a child. I feel so badly for the child, his family, and the gentleman who happened to be there when the rash decision to run into the street was made. Terrible!
by Valrico friend
Aug 31, 2008 8:56 AM
We are fervently praying for Christian's recovery and comfort, as well as for strength for his family. Our hearts also go out to Mr. Garcia, for he must be devastated by this accident as well.
by DRH
Aug 29, 2008 4:10 PM
Very, very sorry as this sounds like a tragic accident. Why wasn't an adult present with these young children at the bus stop? Smells like a frivilous lawsuit in the works.
by Anne
Aug 29, 2008 4:09 PM
In this day and age, with all that could befall a child on their way home from school, what kind of parents would let an elmentary age child walk home alone? Maybe if even one parent had monitored that bus stop, this would not have happened.
by shan
Aug 29, 2008 4:04 PM
i hope the little boy gets better. i wish more parents would wait at the bus stop with their children, or at least trade off duties with the bus stop kids' parents and have 1 parent per morning. It is dangerous for them to be unsupervised.
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