Alpharetta teen recovering after being struck by car

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — A teenager is recovering from serious injuries after he was hit by a car on a busy downtown Alpharetta street.

Video obtained by Channel 2's Mike Petchenik from a city traffic camera shows the 14-year-old boy dart into traffic at the intersection of Old Canton Street and Milton Avenue Sunday and get hit.

"I heard the crash, and actually saw the little boy in the air. He was actually airborne," said witness Jim Consuegra. "He had a head injury, blood coming out of his mouth, so I basically did some very basic first aid to stabilize him until the paramedics got there."

Consuegra told Petchenik the teen was  not responsive.

"He was breathing and all the vital signs were there," he said.

According to an incident report Petchenik obtained, the driver told police the teen jumped out in front of him and he had little time to react. Police said the driver would not be cited.

Downtown Alpharetta business owner Buddy Gash raised a concern about the situation at Monday's City Council meeting. He told Petchenik he wants more traffic enforcement downtown as more people flock to the city center on the weekends.

"There were a bunch of people," he said. "We need the drivers to come through. We just need them to slow down."

Officer Jennifer Howard told Petchenik the police weren't aware of any major issues downtown. She said the city recently lowered the speed limit to 25 mph, which has helped.

"We'd like motorists to be more cognizant of people downtown, and likewise, have pedestrians more aware of traffic," she said. "We have a traffic going both ways through there. It's a state route. We need to have people aware there are cars in the vicinity."

Howard said the teen was in stable condition at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.

WSBTV