MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – A 14-year-old boy was struck by a pickup truck and seriously injured Thursday morning in the area of a school bus stop, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The crash was reported around 7 a.m. on County Road 218 near Melanie Lane — southeast of Wilkinson Elementary School and Wilkinson Junior High School — in the Middleburg area. According to Clay Country District Schools, the teen was heading to Middleburg High School when it happened.
The Highway Patrol said a GMC Sierra pickup truck was yielding to a school bus that was approaching a bus stop with its caution lights on when the student crossed in front of the truck and was struck.
The teen was transported to HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital with serious injuries and then transferred to Wolfson Children’s Hospital, according to troopers. As of around noon, he was in stable condition, an FHP spokesperson said.
The pickup driver was reportedly unhurt. News4JAX was told he remained at the scene.
Eddie Valenzuela lives nearby.
“Sad saddened to hear it, but a lot of shock, really just confusion. I don’t understand how something like that could have happened,” Valenzuela said. “I hope he’s alright.”
Another neighbor, who only wanted to be identified as Bill, said he wants the 45 mph speed limit on this stretch of road reduced.
“It’s just getting worse and worse,” he said.
The Clay County school district released this statement about the crash:
“This is an ongoing investigation that is being led by Florida Highway Patrol and the school district is working in partnership with them. The school district can share that the child is a student at Middleburg High School and the district has sent additional counseling support to the school today. We want to thank the timely response and care provided by our partners at Clay County Fire Rescue. Our thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery go out to the student and family in this incident.”