It was a bright, sunny afternoon on Friday, March 7th as six members of the boys track team took off to run their normal route. Running along Charleston and Hualapai, can be a dangerous task.It’s no secret that the traffic can be heavy and the drivers aren’t always courteous when following the speed limit and sharing the road.

Around 4:45 pm, four of the six runners were struck by an oncoming car that failed to see the boys using the crosswalk. Brandon McCormick, a victim, said, “[The track runners] usually wait long enough to make sure no cars are coming. Which is like roughly 3 seconds.” The driver stopped to ask if the boys were ok, but proceeded to drive off seconds after. The four injured were Ian Tornello, Jonathan Pereira, Brandon McCormick, and Austin Hunt.

Thankfully none of the boys were severely injured and most of the damage was to their knees. “I didn’t get hurt badly, the car just hit my knee and it was only painful for a little” said Hunt. McCormick was hit on his left calf and jumped over the hood of the car. Tornello said, “half the tissue in my knee is gone and I can’t run for a week.”

Immediately after the accident, the track runners called the police and filed a report. “The police haven’t reported back at this time,” Johnathan Pereira said. The suspect was described as a male driving a navy blue or black 2009 Mercedes Benz.  “We all memorized the license plate; it was 09731” stated Austin Hunt. “[The driver] asked if I was alright while I was on the floor, but I couldn’t say anything. So he drove off,” said Tornello.

Please keep you eye out for the car described. If seen, please notify authorities by calling the non emergency police number 3-1-1. Also, please continue to keep these athletes in your prayers!