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Parents speak after teen hit in crosswalk on way to Hillcrest High School

Posted at 3:38 PM, Jan 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-25 00:00:36-05

MIDVALE, Utah -- A teenager was hit while crossing the street on his way to Hillcrest High School in Midvale on Wednesday morning.

Bailey Conway, a junior, was in a crosswalk on 700 East and 7300 South. His parents were among the first people at the scene of the accident.

“It’s heart-wrenching, you don’t expect that to happen to your children,” said Maria Caruso, Bailey’s Mom.

“I pull up and walk around the corner and there’s my son on the ground with eight paramedics around him,” said Richard Conway, Bailey’s Dad.

Bailey was left with a broken femur, a collapsed lung and internal bleeding in his spleen and liver. Despite the injuries, doctors expect he will make a full recovery.

“Who’s next? This isn’t the first time somebody’s been hit,” said Richard Conway.

He’s right.

“This is our fourth major pedestrian accident,” said Dustin Gettel, a newly elected member of the Midvale City Council.

Gettel says the four accidents have come over a span of seven months.

“As a council member, this is my top priority is getting these crosswalks fixed,” he said.

He says the city does have money set aside to make crosswalk improvements.

He wants people to come to a February 6th city council meeting to share their stories and close calls in local crosswalks. Each intersection is different and likely will require a different fix.

At the intersection where Bailey was hit, Gettel wants to see flashing lights and reduced speed signs.

The improvements will be too late for Bailey Conway, but for his family they are now a pressing issue.

“Is somebody actually going to be living, not sitting over here going into surgery, or is somebody going to be sitting around a funeral,” said Richard Conway.