Neighbors: Child hit while playing in street

WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- Residents of the Woodbridge community where a child was hit by a car Monday say it was an unfortunate accident.

The 4-year-old boy was playing in the street in front of his home, in the Bel Air Mobile Home Park in the 1800 block of Bel Air Road, when a car hit him just before 5 p.m.

The unidentified child was flown to a level-one trauma center in Fairfax County, suffering serious injuries, according to initial reports.

Police are expected to provide details of the incident and the child’s condition early this afternoon.

Trailers line the horseshoe-shaped street where the child was hit. The curvature of the street makes it hard for many drivers to see the children who frequently play in the streets, residents say.

“It’s a wake-up call for everyone here in this neighborhood, because it could have been your child out there, and it could have been a lot worse,” said property manager Helen Vaughn.

The child was playing with friends at the time of the crash. It was the Labor Day holiday, and it appeared the child’s family had friends over to their home for a barbeque, said Vaughn.

Many of the cars outside the home were double parked, obstructing the view of other drivers.

Though the number of trailers here make living conditions tight, many residents appear to have more than one car and many of them park along the street.

During the past 10 years as the community’s manager, Vaughn has sent letters to residents about the dangers of their children playing in the streets. She said she would rather them play in the neighborhood’s playground.

Selvin Vasquez lives in the community with his 5-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.

He says his son has tried to play on the play on the playground before, only to have rocks thrown at him by other children forcing to him run home.

“It can be a dangerous place up there, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to my kids. They are my reason for living,” said Vasquez.

The crash happened the day before 78,000 Prince William County Public Schools students went back to school. Many of them, an estimated 59,000 of them, traveled to school this morning on school buses.

“School buses are the safest form of ground transportation on this planet, and we want to keep it that way,” said Director of Transportation Services for Prince William County Public Schools Edward Bishop.

Drivers are reminded to stop when they see flashing lights on a school bus, which is most likely picking up or dropping off children.

If a driver passes a stopped school bus that has its lights flashing, it’s considered a felony in Virginia.

Doing so could bring the possibility of a $2,500 fine, jail time and six demerit points on their driving record that would stand for 11 years, said Bishop.

Drivers do not have to stop for a stopped school bus if a median in the center of the road is present.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-530-3905.