A 16-year-old was struck by a car outside of South Lakes High School in Fairfax County while walking to school on Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The crash happened just before 8 a.m. in Reston, police said. The teen was not in a crosswalk, and was walking in an area never had a crossing guard assigned to it, according to police. They were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
The driver stayed at the scene, and was charged with a traffic infraction for Failure to Stop Before Entering a Highway, police said.
The collision happened amid a county debate over a lack of crossing guards near high schools — a debate which has gone on all summer and at times turned personal between county officials.
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s crash outside South Lakes High School, Fairfax County School Board member Melanie Meren once again brought up the budget cuts in an emailed statement.
“A child was hit by a car outside of South Lakes High School on the seventh day without crossing guards since the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the County Executive’s budget which cut those services to help provide a 0.0025% tax cut,” the email said.
Police are investigating the crash.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article misstated Melanie Meren’s title.
