DES MOINES, Iowa — On Friday, September 5, Des Moines police officers were dispatched to the 300 block of E County Line Road on reports of a 12-year-old girl who was struck by a vehicle.

Luckily, the 12-year-old ended up surviving, spending a night in the hospital. But the family is in disbelief after their daughter followed the crosswalk guidelines and was still hit by an oncoming vehicle.

“Disbelief that she could be hit in a crosswalk. You know, we always think that our children are safe, and just disbelief and shock. I was fortunate to have some friends drive me to get there safely,” said Maria Scaggs, the mother of the 12-year-old.

Scaggs got the call that no parent ever wants to hear from a former teacher of her daughter who was at the scene. Not only was her daughter hit, but Scaggs’ 10-year-old son and her daughter’s friends witnessed the accident.

“It was an emotional weekend for us as a family. And she did go to the hospital but it could have been a lot worse … so we’re just grateful that she only spent a night in the hospital and she’s able to recover at home with her family,” said Scaggs. “It’s the worst phone call a parent can get is that their child got hit by a car in something that’s supposed to be safe.”

The accident last Friday is something Anna Campos is all too familiar with. Her daughter, 14-year-old Ema Cardenas, was hit and killed in a school zone in April 2022. Campos has since been elected to the Des Moines Public School Board, representing district three. She shared her reaction to the accident with WHO 13 News.

“I was at home just getting off of work myself and I turned on the news and I saw that first thing,” said Campos. “I went to social media to make sure that the young girl was, you know, fine and okay. And it seemed like it was just minor injuries. But my heart literally sank. Flashbacks come back to what happened almost four years ago with Ema just walking home from school.”

After the death of her daughter, Campos started advocating for safer streets. The district and the City of Des Moines worked to expand safety equipment and expand the 25 mile an hour limit in school zones. Those zones are extended from what they were in the past, along with the city pushing for wider streets in the zones, Campos said the city helped a lot with that. Along with adding ‘HAWK’ lights to these crosswalks. Unfortunately, it was in one of these HAWK crosswalk zones where the recent accident occurred.

“We’ve done a lot of changes in the community and they’ve been working. We haven’t heard of anything major happening. But now it’s like okay what else,” said Campos. “What else are we doing wrong? And I feel like it’s more of the driver. Drivers need to be aware of what the situation is.”

The Des Moines Police Department told WHO 13 News that the driver was a 72-year-old female. The female was charged with Failure to Yield to pedestrian right of way and Failure to Obey traffic control device.

Des Moines Public Schools sent a statement to WHO 13 News:

“Crosswalks, including those in school zones, are managed and controlled by the City of Des Moines. However, every indication we have is that the crosswalk is clearly marked and the signal lights were working correctly. In this case, the student did everything as they should have to cross the street. This is a sad but important reminder that drivers must pay attention and use extra caution in a school zone. We are thankful the student’s injuries were not more serious, and thankful for the quick response by our school and public safety staff as well as the City’s police and fire departments.”

Phil Roeder, Director of Communications & Public Affairs, DMPS

Campos said that along with drivers being aware, laws need to be passed and the community needs to hone in on the issue of distracted driving as it can impact any family.

Scaggs was frustrated with the lack of a crossing guard in the HAWK crosswalk zone. Elementary schools have crossing guards when school is out, middle schools should have these HAWK crosswalks with no crossing guards. The 12-year-old was crossing at Studebaker Elementary School, leaving from her school day at McComb Middle School. It was an hour after dismissal for the elementary school, so that is why there was no crossing guard present at the time, although there was faculty around who notified Scaggs.