PAYSON, Utah — A Payson mother and four children are recovering following an accident in which a car struck the group while they were in a crosswalk on Wednesday.
Amber Averett and the children were crossing 800 South in Payson on Wednesday afternoon when a Nissan Maxima made a turn and hit them. According to police, the unidentified female driver didn't see the family in the crosswalk.
All five were hit by the vehicle.
"We was at the crosswalk and it was our turn to go. I push the button and everything, like you’re supposed to, and I waited until it was our turn,” Averett told FOX 13 News while visiting her hospital room Friday.
Averett and her children, 6-year-old Vilo and 1-year-old Noah, were with two other children, ages 6 and 9, who are family friends. The group was walking together when the crash happened. Noah's stroller flipped over from the vehicle impact, but he came out with relatively minimal injuries.
“It just happened too fast," she recalled. "I didn’t get to see it or anything. At that moment, I was just worried about the kids and the other ones. I heard them screaming and everything.”
Averett suffered head trauma and a broken leg, but was conscious and talking to officers when they arrived at the accident scene. She and her two children were transported to Spanish Fork Hospital.
The mother of the other two children showed up at the crosswalk following the incident and accompanied them to Mountain View Hospital. One of the children suffered a fractured femur during the crash.
“I'm just glad that everyone was okay, you know, no one got killed or anything. But I just wish it didn’t happen at all,” Averett shared.
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The driver of the vehicle was cooperative at the scene and submitted to tests to show she was not impaired. She was later cited by police for failure to yield and causing an injury accident.
The incident is one of many in recent weeks in which pedestrians have been struck while attempting to cross streets while in crosswalks. Last month, an 11-year-old boy riding a scooter was hit by a vehicle in Roy. Earlier this month, 9-year-old Dalton Gibbs was killed after being hit by a truck in Pleasant Grove.
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“I actually never really thought it would happen to me, but unfortunately it did,” Averett said. “People need to pay attention to their whereabouts, you know, when they’re driving, even when they’re walking, to,o you know, I try to pay attention too, but that car was just moving too fast.”
Amber doesn't know when she'll be fully healed but will pass the time playing with her kids.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help the families with medical expenses.
