SEATTLE — A 7-year-old girl was hit by a vehicle as she was crossing a street in the Rainier Valley with her two sisters Tuesday night.
Witnesses had initally reported that the girl was hit by both a car and an SUV, but police later determined she was only hit by the SUV.
When the driver sped away, a man rushed into the street to help the girl.
"I don't think I'll ever forget it,” said witness Kevin Reeves. “I mean I really pray to God this young lady survives and she does not lose her life tonight."
Reeves told KIRO 7 he saw the girl in the crosswalk at Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. and S. Genesee Street, when the driver of a maroon Chevy Tahoe SUV hit her, leaving her laying on the pavement.
“I mean there was no braking no stopping,” Reeves said. “I mean it's like they were running over dogs. They did not stop at all."
She was with her two sisters who were crossing the street to get to a tutoring session at a nearby Boys and Girls Club when she was hit.
Paramedics raced the girl to Harborview Medical Center, where at 1 a.m. Tuesday, was listed in critical condition. On Wednesday, she was upgraded to serious condition but has a broken neck, shoulder, ribs and legs.
People who said they were traumatized by what they saw are sure she had the right of way. “(The driver) ran a red light,” Reeves said.
Seattle police are looking through surveillance video, hoping to find images of the SUV speeding away.
The community has rallied around the family, trying to support them.