A 9-year-old boy remains hospitalized in critical condition days after a car struck him in Southeast D.C. outside his school. The boy's mother is questioning why and how her son was let out of class while she waited inside the school's office to pick him up, an attorney for the family says.
Kaidyn Green was struck by a Nissan sedan in the 3300 block of Wheeler Road SE about 2 p.m. Friday.
He had left his school, KIPP DC Honor Academy, before dismissal and was trying to cross the road by himself when he was struck, police said. He was not in a crosswalk, police said.
"It's very very grave. He's on life support now. He's a strong young man so he's showing some signs that he's improving but it's still a long way to go," the family's attorney Keith Watters told News4 Tuesday.
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The driver involved remained on the scene after the crash. The car was towed from the scene.
Watters said Kaidyn's mother wants to know who let her son out of the school and how he ended up in the street without an adult with him.
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"We don't know how this happened, but children are supervised. They just don't walk the halls. They just don't walk outdoors. So we would love to know what the school administrators and staff were doing," he said.
The family believes once Kaidyn was outside, he saw his mother's car parked across the street and went toward it. As he did, the car struck him.
During the crash, Kaidyn's mother was inside the school's office waiting for someone to bring her son to her for an early dismissal.
"She immediately looked out and realized what had happened and she lost it, really. It was very traumatic for her," Watters said.
News4 reached out to KIPP DC Honor Academy for comment, but has not yet received a response.
Crossing guards and D.C. police are normally present for dismissal at 4 p.m.
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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the D.C. Department of Transportation will conduct a safety analysis of the street in front of the school, which has a 15 mph speed limit during the school day but no speed bumps, speed cameras or flashing yellow signals.
The scene is just two blocks from where a driver struck and injured a father and his two little girls on “Walk to School Day” in October.
A speed camera is scheduled to be installed near the school Dec. 15.
