SILVER SPRING, Md. — Wednesday is National Walk to School Day, but after four Montgomery County high school students were struck while waiting for a bus in Aspen Hill, Maryland Tuesday, local leaders are pushing for more roadway safety reviews.
A 15-year-old boy remains in critical condition while three other girls are expected to be OK after a car careened onto the sidewalk on Georgia Avenue. All four victims are students at Kennedy High School.
” … We are concerned that this is another pedestrian-involved incident occurring along a high-volume state roadway,” said Council Vice President Nancy Navarro and Councilman Craig Rice said in Tuesday statement.
“While the investigation is still ongoing, we will seek to review this incident with our partners at the Maryland State Highway Administration, the Maryland Department of Transportation, Montgomery County Public Schools, and the Montgomery County Police Department to understand what happened and do everything in our power to ensure the protection of our children,” their statement said.
Navarro and Rice said they will request a joint meeting between several committees, including the Education and Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment committees to discuss strategies to prevent such accidents.
The statement calls on local partners to improve efforts to keep kids safe and address concerns when it comes to bus stops on busy roads.
The statement also mentions a joint effort that is now in the works between the county’s planning board and Vision Zero team, a team committed to reducing severe and fatal collisions on county roads, to study the Aspen Hill area and potential improvements.
The statement went on to stress the importance of local leaders doing everything in their power to keep kids safe inside and outside the classroom.
