2 teens in San Tan Valley neighborhood struck by drivers just days apart
SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. - Loved ones of two teens who were struck by drivers in a San Tan Valley neighborhood just days apart are pleading with the public to help prevent these kinds of crashes.
What we know:
Both of these crashes happened just blocks away from each other along Johnson Ranch Boulevard.
In a Jan. 26 interview, the sisters of 16-year-old Jeriah Smith pleaded with the community to slow down and pay attention when driving.
Family of teen hit by driver shares message: Slow down, pay attention
A Pinal County teen is in the hospital fighting for his life after getting hit by a truck while crossing the road to his bus stop.
He was hit while crossing the intersection at Johnson Ranch Boulevard and East Saddle Way on the way to his bus stop on Jan. 22.
Smith was flown to a nearby hospital with a number of serious injuries.
"His major things are the brain bleeds that he endured. He’s got a shattered pelvis. They did end up doing some surgery, and they found that his right leg is also completely shattered. He’s recently started seizing," Danika Smith, his sister, said to FOX 10 previously.
The 18-year-old driver stayed at the scene of the crash.
"This could've been anybody's kid. Our sister was feet behind him. We could've lost both of our siblings because somebody wanted to not pay attention in a school zone, in a crosswalk where kids walk every single day at the exact same time," Jaiden Smith, his sister, said.
Then, eight days later and just over half a mile away, 13-year-old Frank Gonzales Jr. was hit near Johnson Ranch Boulevard and West Saddle Way.
Two kids being hit in a neighborhood leaves their loved ones with a lot of questions.
Frank Gonzales Jr., 13, and Jeriah Smith, 16
Dig deeper:
"No parent should have to get the phone call that we have received, and I don't want any other parent to have to go through this," said Gonzales Jr.'s mother, Marnie Cook.
On Jan. 30, she called her son's phone when he was late walking home from a neighbor's house.
The person who answered was not her son.
"The neighbor who had found him picked up, and said, 'Your son was involved in a hit-and-run accident," Cook recalled.
A car, described as a white, gray or black Kia sedan, now missing its passenger side mirror, drove off and left Gonzales Jr. with potentially life-changing injuries.
"We don't know what the future holds. He has severe ACL muscle tissue damage and will have further surgeries," Cook said.
What's next:
These families are pleading with drivers to slow down in a neighborhood filled with crosswalks for school children, golf carts, and every day pedestrians.
"I would love to see more streetlights, possibly more sidewalks, speed bumps, whatever we can do to keep these children safe. I understand we all want to get home, and we're in a hurry to get to our loved ones, but we need to keep our loved ones safe so that we can … so that everybody can get home to their loved ones," Cook said.
She says she will not stop speaking out until she finds out who hit her son.
What you can do:
If you have any information about the Jan. 30 hit-and-run, call the Pinal County Sheriff's Office at 520-866-5111.
Click here for Smith's GoFundMe.
Click here for Gonzales Jr.'s GoFundMe.