SCRANTON -- Police said a 14-year old student and a school crossing guard were hit by a vehicle and injured Thursday afternoon.
It happened just after South Scranton Intermediate School let out, around 3:40 p.m. Police said Qua Angela Richardson, 14, was trying to cross Pittston Avenue at Maple Street when she was hit. At the time, a crossing guard, Josephine Williams, 61, was trying to stop traffic to keep the girl safe.
Police said Williams was also hit. She was treated for her injuries at the hospital and released. The girl was in critical condition Thursday night.
“The driver left the scene, walked away, walked down Maple Street toward Cedar Avenue and she did return after 20, 25 minutes. She returned to the scene and admitted she was driving the vehicle,” said Scranton Police Lt. Martin Crofton.
Police said the driver, Jamie Rutledge, 30, of Scranton, told them the student and crossing guard "came out of nowhere."
A man who lives nearby said he saw the driver walk past his home.
“I was at my house and there was a lady that just walked by and she was like she was on a cell phone. She was like she hit a little girl. She got out of the car and walked away. She went and got her son at the school right here and came up and she was at the corner and then she went up and told the cops she was the one who hit the little girl,” said Corey Giles of Scranton.
Scranton police trained in reconstruction investigated for hours. Part of Pittston Avenue was closed during that time.
“It’s very difficult and you’re trying to piece together what happened, 10, 15 minutes after it happened,” said Brian Gallagher, an assistant district attorney in Lackawanna County.
People in the area said they can't understand how a driver could leave a person in the road.
“Why would you leave that little girl without even finding out if she was alright?” asked Giles.
As of 9 p.m. Thursday, Richardson was still in the hospital with head, arm, and other injuries.
