Police are investigating after high school student was hit by a car in Millcreek Township Monday morning.

It happened when it was still dark, just after 7 a.m. on Zuck Rd. south of the intersection with W. Grandview Blvd.

Millcreek police received multiple calls to report the pedestrian struck.  Patrolman Katrina Kuhl one of the investigators on the scene said,  "I know our officers were on the scene very quickly and paramedics also responded quickly and transported her to the hospital."

Millcreek Township School District officials confirmed that the accident victim, 16, is a junior at McDowell High School.  Police investigators believe she was crossing Zuck Road from west to east to wait at a bus stop.  There is a marked EMTA stop there.  "It is a bus stop area, we believe that may be part of the reason why she was crossing the road but the investigation is still ongoing," patrol officer Kuhl said.

According to police, the student was hit by a gold-colored Buick sedan, which was being driven northbound by a 62-year-old Millcreek woman.  The driver stopped after the accident and is cooperating with the investigation.  The vehicle had some front-end damage and was towed from the scene as part of the police investigation.

Police kept Zuck Rd. closed until just after 11 a.m. as they processed the accident scene for evidence.  "We look for evidence in the roadway, we have an engineering team that comes out and actually maps the whole roadway so that we can get measurements to do speed equations and... determine how fast the driver was going and who may have been at fault," Officer Kuhl said.

The student's injuries are serious, according to reports at the scene she suffered head and leg trauma.  Millcreek school officials said the district is offering counseling support to anyone who may need it.

The accident is a reminder to other drivers to have their headlights on, go the speed limit and pay attention on these dark winter mornings.
"Don't look at your cell phones, don't get distracted by coffee, radio changing, you know really pay attention to the task at hand," officer Kuhl cautioned.