Girl, 11, hit walking to bus stop

By Ethan Forman
Staff writer

October 07, 2008 12:14 am

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DANVERS — A sixth-grader at Holten Richmond Middle School is recovering at a Boston hospital after being hit by a car yesterday morning while crossing busy Centre Street to get to her bus stop.

The victim, Kaylee Halloran, 11, is the daughter of Chris Halloran, a lieutenant with the Beverly Fire Department.

Firefighter Brian Latulippe said firefighters are pulling for the Halloran family and said the girl is conscious and alert.

Halloran was flown by helicopter to Boston from Beverly Hospital following the 7 a.m. crash.

Kaylee, a sixth-grader at Holten Richmond Middle School, was lying in the gutter with school books nearby, said Bob Wheeler of 9 Centre St.

"It was terrible just looking at her lying on the side of the road," Wheeler said.

A woman was cradling the victim, and neighbor Melissa Forest brought out a blanket to her, Wheeler said.

Sgt. Robert Bettencourt, police spokesman, said her injuries, which included a leg injury and abrasions to her forehead, are not life-threatening.

Wheeler said he approached a man talking on a cell phone who identified himself as the driver.

"The first thing he said was he never even saw her," Wheeler said.

Police cited Thomas Bussone, 35, of 464 Hanover St., Boston, with failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and with a town-ordinance violation for failing to use care when slowing or stopping, Bettencourt said. Bussone was at the wheel of the 2004 Volvo sedan that struck the student, Bettencourt said.

The accident was reported at 7:06 a.m. Police are still investigating the accident, and further charges may be pending, he said.

Middle school Principal Michael Cali said he went to the hospital yesterday morning and spoke with the Kaylee's mother, who told him "the student was complaining about not being able to do a cheerleading competition," something Cali took as an encouraging sign.

Cali also complimented the bus driver for stopping the bus on Centre Street so to shield the girl from traffic.

Kaylee was struck in the vicinity of 11 Centre St. as she headed across the road toward 14 Centre St. to the bus stop at the corner of Centre and Prince streets, Bettencourt said.

Bussone was heading west toward Route 1 when his car struck her. The intersection is busy because it handles traffic heading to and from Route 114 on Prince Street, as well as traffic heading toward Route 1 on Centre Street.

Crossing guard Paul Murray arrived at the scene shortly after the accident.

"Police were all over the place," Murray said. "The kid was lying over there."

Bettencourt said a crossing guard is stationed at the crosswalk to help Highlands Elementary School students cross after the middle school bus is gone.

"That particular post is for elementary," said Superintendent Lisa Dana, adding that crossing guards are under the jurisdiction of the Police Department.

Support at school

Dana said protocols were followed not only to make sure the student was safe, but to work with kids on the bus who may have been traumatized by seeing their classmate struck. Cali also works with faculty to provide emotional support to students, she said.

"If they need the support at any time, the support is available for them," Dana said.

Parents in the school were also notified by phone about the accident.

Wheeler said a curve by the nearby historic Judge Samuel Holten House several hundred feet away makes things tough for drivers.

At the curve, there's a "blind driveway" sign and a sign warning of the crosswalk.

"It's pretty blind when they come around this corner," Wheeler said.

Patrolman Daniel Kenneally is handling the accident reconstruction, and he said a tree may block the view of the crosswalk.

"The fields of view are definitely going to be looked at," Kenneally said.

Patrolmen Phil Tansey, Jay George and Richard Stoney responded to the accident, and Sgt. William Carleton photographed the scene, Bettencourt said.

Staff writer Bruno Matarazzo Jr. contributed to this report.

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