CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. Local Charlotte News — Investigators in Cabarrus County are working to figure out what led up to a 10-year-old boy being hit and killed by a car in Mount Pleasant Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s a tragedy. That’s how you put it in words,” said Mike Teal, a neighbor.
Teal works with the family of the little boy who was hit and killed by a car on Mount Pleasant Road Wednesday afternoon.
Cabarrus County Schools says the school bus dropped the little boy off at his driveway, and troopers say the child made it safely off the bus.
Once the bus driver saw the student make it to his destination, troopers say the bus driver left and continued on the route.
Sometime later, troopers say it appears the child may have been trying to cross the street to check the mailbox when a car drove by and hit the 10-year-old boy who was in the road.
The child was taken to the hospital and died. Troopers say the driver of the car stopped and stayed on the scene. The investigation is ongoing.
“As a child, I could play in this road, and enjoy it but it actually now is very dangerous. People speed on this road,” said Teal.
Troopers have not said if speed was a factor in the accident that killed the 10-year-old boy, but Teal wants the speed limit lowered from 55 miles an hour to 45.
“It’s just a very rural community, but close-knit, everybody kind of knows everybody and takes care of everybody,” said Teal.
He says there have been a number of accidents over the years, and he doesn’t want any more families grieving.
News 46 reached out to Steve Morris, Chairman of the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners, to tell him about the neighbor’s concern regarding reducing the speed limit. Morris says he’ll look into and consider reaching out to the DOT about the situation.
Here’s a statement from Cabarrus County Schools regarding the student’s death:
Cabarrus County Schools is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our student. We offer our sincere condolences to the family and will respect their privacy and dignity during this difficult time.
Our district’s crisis response team is on-site at Mount Pleasant Elementary School with school counselors, social workers, and psychologists available to help students and staff process strong emotional responses.
Here’s a statement from the Cabarrus County Schools transportation department:
All of the stops on that particular stretch of road (Mount Pleasant Road North) are either house or driveway stops. The district’s overall practice is to select the safest location possible for bus stops. Yesterday’s accident occurred after the student had safely exited the school bus at the driveway. The bus was not on the scene at the time of the accident.
