An 8-year-old boy is in stable condition with a broken leg after a car struck him in a crosswalk just outside the Tulsa State Fair, near 15th Street and New Haven Avenue. The boy was walking through the crosswalk with his mother when the vehicle hit him, and police say the traffic lights were flashing at the moment of the crash.
According to KTUL, “Police are investigating after a child was hit by a car outside of the Tulsa State Fair.” The station reports the driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, and that the child “has a broken leg and is currently in stable condition.” As of now, it remains unclear whether police will file charges, as the investigation is ongoing, the station notes.
Separate reporting from KOKH adds that emergency crews responded to the crash near 15th and New Haven Avenue, and that witnesses say the boy was crossing with his mother when he ran in front of her in the crosswalk before a vehicle struck him. That outlet also reports the driver was 18 years old, stopped immediately after hitting the boy, and cooperated with the ongoing investigation. Tulsa Police Department investigators are still working to determine whether charges would be appropriate, per that report.
A Stretch of 15th Street With a Troubled History
This isn't the first time a crosswalk near the Tulsa State Fair grounds has turned deadly. In October 2021, 51-year-old Luis Calzada was killed while leaving the fair, struck by a driver near the same general corridor, as detailed by KJRH. A separate fatal crash described by Fox23 involved a man crossing 15th Street near Yale around 7:30 p.m. who was struck by a Ford Expedition; police in that case said the driver remained on scene, was cooperative, and was not intoxicated.
In response to that history, the city of Tulsa secured a $150,000 Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Grant aimed at improving pedestrian safety along 15th Street, the same KJRH report states. City crews used the funding to add five rectangular rapid flashing beacons with yellow lights along the corridor, re-stripe existing crosswalks, install new LED lighting, trim trees along the median, and lower the speed limit to 35 mph. The report also noted that people would see five new crosswalks along 15th Street in 2022.
Investigation Continues
Police have not said whether the safety upgrades were in place at the exact site of Friday's crash, and the investigation into what led to the boy being struck remains active. For now, authorities have confirmed only the basic sequence of events: a mother and son in a crosswalk, flashing lights, and a driver who stopped and stayed put. Whether that driver will face charges is a question Tulsa police have not yet answered.
