Local

‘Nobody has anything;’ 14-year-old girl struck in hit-and-run while walking home from school

VANDALIA — A 14-year-old girl is recovering after being hit by a car while walking home from school on Friday.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the crash happened at the intersection of Foley Drive and National Road in Vandalia.

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Brooklyn Landis walks 40 minutes home from school, passing through the busy intersection five days a week.

Ashely Landis, Brooklyn’s mother, said her daughter typically calls her after school asking to go to the library.

But when she answered the phone on Friday, she heard Brooklyn yelling for help.

“All I hear is just you know, hysterical crying and her saying ‘help, help,’” Ashley said.

Ashley said the call made her heart drop.

“And of course, I’m freaking out. You know, I have no idea what’s going on and you know then she says, ‘I got hit, I got hit,’” Ashley said.

Brooklyn said she was crossing the street in the crosswalk with her older brother when a car hit her.

The person behind the wheel didn’t stop to check on the teen.

“I saw it start moving and that’s when I like tried to stop and I slipped,” Brooklyn said. “When I slipped, all I saw was like the car, like right up against me and me trying, all I could think of was trying to push myself off of it.”

Brooklyn said she tried to get out of the street as the car drove off because she didn’t want to get hit again.

“I don’t know if the person even knows it happened. Because they didn’t stop ever and like try to do anything about it,” she said.

The Landis family showed News Center 7 the tire marks left on Brooklyn’s backpack.

Scott Landis, Brooklyn’s father, wants the driver to come forward.

“I’m upset, you know, that somebody thought that it was okay to continue on after hitting anybody, much less a child,” Scott said.

Scott and Ashley checked with businesses and neighborhoods near the crosswalk, hoping someone had a video of the car.

“Nobody has anything. We just have a couple of witnesses that said that they saw a cream or tan colored Chevy Impala or Malibu with an older lady driving,” Scott said.

According to the police report, the driver who hit Brooklyn is described as an older woman with gray hair. She was driving a tan-colored Chevy.

News Center 7 reached out to Vandalia police for more information but has not heard back.

We will continue to follow this story.

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