New information has emerged regarding this morning’s accident involving a truck and child pedestrian (September 12, 2024).
Meghan Petty, PCSO PIO said the patrol deputies who responded believe the child was in the roadway at the time of the crash and it is now being reclassified from a hit-and-run to a traffic crash with injury.
The driver of the truck was a woman and she did stop to ask if the child was ok. The woman was not at the scene of the crash when deputies arrived because reportedly the child stated that she was ok before the driver left.
Petty informed us that the victim possibly has a fractured shoulder, but it is not confirmed.
The following is a statement directly from Polk County Sheriff’s Office: “This was not a hit and run. The information that we have at this time is that the driver stopped, got out of her vehicle, asked the girl if she was alright, and asked if she needed to call 911. The girl declined. It appears that the girl was struck by the side mirror. We would still like the driver to come forward though, as this is still a crash investigation.”
Initially, when the call came in around 6:30 a.m. this morning, it was reported by witnesses that a truck struck the child, then fled. The truck was a white pickup truck with ladders on top. Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies were asking the public at the time to be on the lookout for any vehicles matching the description, because at the time, it was classified as a hit-and-run.
As the new details emerged later in the morning, deputies were able to reclassify it. This is the last update we will have on this investigation, as it is now classified as a traffic crash with injury.
