PLEASANT HILLS, Pa. -- A 16-year-old girl was struck by a car while crossing the road to get to her school bus, and police said speeding has been an issue there lately.
Pleasant Hills Police Chief Ed Cunningham said the teen, who attends Thomas Jefferson High School, was struck by a car in the 200 block of Old Lebanon Church Road.
Police said the driver of the car saw the girl crossing and tried to brake, but the car skidded into the victim, who was taken to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh with a head injury.
"We've had a lot of reports. We've done a lot of traffic details down there," Cunningham said. "In fact, last weekend down there, we had an officer who handed out two citations for speeding."
While officers haven't yet determined how fast the car that hit the teen was going, they do say speed was a factor in the collision.
"I thought she was under the car, really, the way she went," witness Gary Held said. "I saw her flying up in the air. Thought she had got hit by the front of the car, but she got the side and the windshield, and that's enough."
So far, no charges have been filed in the case. The victim's name isn't being released.
There is a 25 mph speed limit on the road, which is maintained by Allegheny County, not Pleasant Hills.
Cunningham said the local police department can only do so much. Neighbors think the road would get more attention if it was locally owned.
"It seems too many people are in a hurry any more to slow down, especially on municipal streets like that," Cunningham said. "Around that time, it is school time. Kids are on their way to school buses and crossing streets, so we ask everybody to slow down and pay more attention."
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