Related links
WOOSTER -- A teenager returned to the school zone along route 226 near Wooster Tuesday, surveying skid marks over the place she was standing the day before, when she and a friend were hit by an out of control car.
"I heard squealing, so I looked forward and I seen a black car coming towards me and so I turned around to like move out of the way and I got hit," says 14-year-old Kaitlyn Robb.
The next thing Kaitlyn remembers is lying on the ground, crying. She recalls being surrounded by people who were trying to calm her down. She says her finger was bleeding profusely and her back felt as though it was on fire.
"They had a blanket on [my back] and I was telling them try and get it off and one of my friends told them to get it off it's hurting my back," Kaitlyn tells Fox 8.
Kaitlyn's friend, 13-year-old Michael Gales, was also hit.
"I saw [the car] swerve, it was sideways and the rest was a blackout, until I found myself on the ground," Michael told Fox 8 Reporter Dave Nethers from his bed at Akron Children's Hospital, just before he was taken to surgery. Doctors say he needs the surgery to repair a broken bone in his leg.
"My right leg has like a sore on the knee, my left leg, the femur is broke and I've got cuts over my elbows and I have a tire mark on my stomach," Michael explained.
The accident happened well within a marked school zone to the north of Triway Junior High School as parents in other cars were waiting to pick-up their kids.
Kaitlyn, Michael and Michael's brother were walking home on the grass well off the pavement. Michael's brother was not hit.
The Highway Patrol believes the driver who hit them swerved to avoid the cars that had suddenly stopped and went off the road into the children.
Michael and Kaitlyn's parents say they realize the outcome could have been much more devastating, "It's not something I like to think about," says Andrea Gales. "I couldn't stand losing either one or even my oldest son who was there," she said.
Kaitlyn's Stepfather, Mark Galbraith says it is one of those things you never expect will happen to your own children. "You need to be careful, pay attention to what you are doing, I don't wish this upon any family, any family at all," Galbraith says.
Route 226 is a straight two-lane road at the school. During the day, the speed limit is 45 miles per hour.
Superintendent David Rice says local residents should be familiar with the school zones that run about a quarter of a mile because of what he calls "the nature of the road".
Rice says, "We talk about it all the time with kids' parents, community members and keep reminding them that school is in session now, time to be careful."
As of Tuesday, the driver who hit them has not been cited. The Ohio Highway Patrol's investigation is ongoing.
"I heard squealing, so I looked forward and I seen a black car coming towards me and so I turned around to like move out of the way and I got hit," says 14-year-old Kaitlyn Robb.
The next thing Kaitlyn remembers is lying on the ground, crying. She recalls being surrounded by people who were trying to calm her down. She says her finger was bleeding profusely and her back felt as though it was on fire.
"They had a blanket on [my back] and I was telling them try and get it off and one of my friends told them to get it off it's hurting my back," Kaitlyn tells Fox 8.
Kaitlyn's friend, 13-year-old Michael Gales, was also hit.
"I saw [the car] swerve, it was sideways and the rest was a blackout, until I found myself on the ground," Michael told Fox 8 Reporter Dave Nethers from his bed at Akron Children's Hospital, just before he was taken to surgery. Doctors say he needs the surgery to repair a broken bone in his leg.
"My right leg has like a sore on the knee, my left leg, the femur is broke and I've got cuts over my elbows and I have a tire mark on my stomach," Michael explained.
The accident happened well within a marked school zone to the north of Triway Junior High School as parents in other cars were waiting to pick-up their kids.
Kaitlyn, Michael and Michael's brother were walking home on the grass well off the pavement. Michael's brother was not hit.
The Highway Patrol believes the driver who hit them swerved to avoid the cars that had suddenly stopped and went off the road into the children.
Michael and Kaitlyn's parents say they realize the outcome could have been much more devastating, "It's not something I like to think about," says Andrea Gales. "I couldn't stand losing either one or even my oldest son who was there," she said.
Kaitlyn's Stepfather, Mark Galbraith says it is one of those things you never expect will happen to your own children. "You need to be careful, pay attention to what you are doing, I don't wish this upon any family, any family at all," Galbraith says.
Route 226 is a straight two-lane road at the school. During the day, the speed limit is 45 miles per hour.
Superintendent David Rice says local residents should be familiar with the school zones that run about a quarter of a mile because of what he calls "the nature of the road".
Rice says, "We talk about it all the time with kids' parents, community members and keep reminding them that school is in session now, time to be careful."
As of Tuesday, the driver who hit them has not been cited. The Ohio Highway Patrol's investigation is ongoing.

