Teenager struck by hit-and-run driver while crossing street

PITTSBURGH — A 15-year-old girl is recovering after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver while crossing the street in East Liberty on Wednesday.

Tekenna Carter was walking on Penn Circle near North Beatty Street around 4 p.m. when the crash happened.

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Carter said she was not seriously hurt, but the driver fled when her mother got to the scene

"I just hope that she turns herself in and she doesn't hurt anybody else," Carter said. "I didn't think she was going to leave. She seemed so sincere. She was apologizing."

Several other pedestrian crashes have occurred in the city of Pittsburgh, some of them fatal.

In February, Kristine Lettie was in the crosswalk on Fifth and Grant streets downtown when she was hit and killed by a shuttle bus.  In October, a woman was seriously injured after being hit by a car while in the crosswalk on East Ohio Street. Last August, Dennis Flanagan was killed while riding his bike along West Carson Street.

All of the crashes were under different circumstances, but community members say that too many drivers are distracted. Jason Jablon is part of Lively Pittsburgh, a group that advocates for safe streets for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

"We're seeing people looking at their phones, running red lights, not even stopping on a right-hand turn on red, they're just continuing to run through these intersections," Jablon said.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation records show there were 172 pedestrian deaths in 2016, which is 19 more fatalities than the previous year.

Cox Media Group