LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The driver who hit a 15-year-old walking between Lakota East's freshman campus and high school last week told officials she looked away from the road "to adjust her baby's pacifier," per a crash report.
Officials said a Lakota East freshman, identified by his family as Aspen Dylan Runnels, was hit while in the crosswalk at the intersection of Bethany Road and Liberty Court just after 2 p.m. on May 15. A crash report states a woman driving a pickup truck failed to yield the right of way to Runnels, hitting him.
That woman told officials she had looked away from the road, adjusting her baby's pacifier, at the time of the crash. The report says she was driving around 30 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
Runnels was taken to UC West Chester Hospital with "serious injuries," the sheriff's office said. Runnels' family told WCPO 9 on Sunday the 15-year-old remains in critical condition.
"We all know Aspen is a fighter, and he is resilient," his mother, Christina Alcorn, wrote in a daily Facebook update on her son's condition. "We believe with all of our hearts he can come through this."
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The woman stayed on scene and cooperated with an investigation into the crash, the sheriff's office said.
Alcorn said during a candlelight vigil for her son Sunday that her message to drivers is to slow down, noting what happened to her son was "completely avoidable."
A GoFundMe has been organized for the family to help cover expenses. You can click here to donate.
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