A 7-year-old Spanish Fork boy remained in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle on North Spanish Fork Parkway on Halloween night, and his family says he is now on life support with a severe traumatic brain injury. The boy, Hudson, was reportedly trying to cross the road mid-block when he was hit just after 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Spanish Fork police and other first responders were dispatched at 7:13 p.m. to a report of an auto-pedestrian accident at 875 N. Spanish Fork Parkway, according to ksl.com. Officers, firefighters and EMS crews responded to find the boy had been struck by a southbound Jeep Wrangler driven by a 16-year-old girl, police said. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital in critical condition, and, according to a GoFundMe set up by a family friend, was later flown to Primary Children's Hospital, where he was placed in the intensive care unit.
Witnesses told police the boy was wearing dark clothing and a mask and had attempted to cross the roadway in the middle of the block for an unknown reason, per the same account from ksl.com. The driver was cooperating with investigators, and the incident remains under investigation. Police also reminded drivers that the speed limit on Spanish Fork Parkway is 35 mph.
Family Says Boy Suffered Severe Brain Injury
According to KUTV, the boy's name is Hudson, and he is a twin and one of three children. His family says he suffered a severe traumatic brain injury along with multiple other injuries and remains on life support.
A family friend started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the family cover costs tied to the crash. Donations are intended to help with medical and recovery-related expenses, transportation, and everyday expenses, as well as to provide care for Hudson's other two children while a family member identified as Gia stays by his side at the hospital. Gia has said she holds no anger or animosity toward the teen driver involved in the crash.
Halloween Night Carries Known Pedestrian Risks
The crash adds to a troubling pattern nationally. A 2018 study found that pedestrian death risk is 43 percent higher on Halloween evening than on comparison evenings, and ten times higher for children ages 4 to 8, according to medicaldaily.com. A separate analysis of federal crash records found that 45 pedestrians age 17 or younger were killed on Oct. 31 between 2010 and 2024, more than on any other calendar date, with more than half of those deaths occurring between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Those national figures describe broader trends and are not specific to Spanish Fork Parkway, where the circumstances of Saturday's crash remain under investigation. Spanish Fork police have not released further updates on the boy's condition or on whether any citations will be issued.
