KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasDangerous Shortcuts to School
Bill Hill lost his son Timothy last October
Your child could be using a dangerous shortcut to get to school. One shortcut cost a North Las Vegas child his life. The parents of a 12-year-old boy who was hit and killed by a car there say children are still using the same dangerous shortcut to get to nearby Findlay Middle School. They fear it's only a matter of time before another child gets hurt or killed.
Bill Hill lost his son Timothy last October. He said, "We just want the kids in this area and others to have a safer route to school."
Paint marks on the sidewalk still reveal where Hill's son tried to cross Ann Road mid-block on his way to school last October. He had cut through a subdivision wall that wasn't barred at the time. But some kids are still using this dangerous shortcut.
Concerned residents have put a shopping cart on the one side of the wall and a chair on the other side, but instead of going through the wall, kids now just go over. Hill said, "Kids know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line."
Police have said pedestrian error is to blame because there is no crosswalk there. But Hill says the alternative routes are even worse. At one intersection, there's a construction zone with no sidewalks. And the intersection at the other end tacks on another mile and a half walk in the opposite direction of the school.
Scott Konnath said, "There is no real good option here for these kids. Konnath is a member of the newly formed Clark County School Traffic Safety Task Force. His committee has already flagged this Findlay Middle School route as one of several needing immediate action, but he knows there are many other unsafe routes out there as well.
"We've got to reach the parents. Please help us take a look at the route your kids are walking and tell your school if you see something wrong. We all have to work together," Scott Konnath continued.
Bill Hill says that means drivers need to do their part by slowing down and paying attention. "The seconds you're saving by speeding or going round someone aren't worth a human life."
One possible solution is a mid-block crosswalk with flashing lights. This would also help slow down the traffic in this 35 miles-per-hour zone where drivers are often topping 50 mph.
Email reporter Alyson McCarthy at amccarthy@klastv.com
