The residents of an Arlington apartment complex have long talked about the need for speed bumps, sidewalks, flashing lights and crossing guards to ensure local children get to school safely. The necessity of these changes became painfully obvious this week, when a six-year-old girl was involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident as she was walking to school.

The girl, a first-grader at Dunn Elementary, was walking to school with her mother when she was hit by an allegedly speeding pickup truck near the intersection of Park Springs and Ichabod Circle. The driver, who did not see the young girl, was distraught, neighbors said. "I looked out the window and I saw the little girl on the road," said resident Yolanda Zuniga. "The lady that hit the little girl, she was screaming and crying."

The girl was taken by ambulance to the Medical Center of Arlington, where she died. No charges are expected to be filed against the driver.

According to residents, motorists regularly speed on Park Springs, and pedestrians are often unable to see approaching vehicles. "There needs to be a sign that says 'Children Crossing'," said resident Deborah Knight. "Anything to make them slow down. They fly back and forth through here like speed racers."

Although City Public Works Director Bob Lowry says he is not aware of any recent complaints about the safety of the roads around Dunn Elementary, neighbors hope that the girl's death motivates the city to add safety measures. There have been two other car accidents in the area this year, neither of which resulted in life-threatening injuries.

The girl is the first pedestrian or cyclist between the ages of four and 18 to be hit and killed by a vehicle in Tarrant County this year. There were three such fatalities in the county last year. Statewide, 256 pedestrians and cyclists between four and 18 have been killed since 2005.

Source: Star-Telegram, "Arlington girl dies on her way to school", Robert Cadwallader and Jessamy Brown, 20 October 2010