A Lethbridge man has been charged in connection with an early morning pedestrian collision that sent a 12-year-old boy to hospital with injuries to his head and spine.
At approximately 7:29 a.m. Wednesday, police responded to a report that a young boy had been struck by a truck in the crosswalk at 20 Street and 18 Avenue North.
“It was still dark out and the driver, as far as I know, simply didn’t see the boy,” said Lethbridge Police Service Constable Brent Paxman.
The boy was taken to Chinook Regional Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and remained in hospital Wednesday afternoon.
“He’s awake and conscious, but has some broken bones,” said Paxman. “But, because he’s awake and conscious, it doesn’t look like the head injury is going to be too bad.”
Steven Melvin Supina, 56, was arrested at the scene without incident.
He’s been charged with one count of failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk, and though he did have alcohol in his system, he’s not facing any additional charges.
“Alcohol was a factor, but there wasn’t enough evidence to support an impaired driving charge,” said Paxman.
If police had just written a ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian, it would have been a 776 dollar fine to be dealt with in traffic court. Instead, police have laid a formal charge in provincial court.
“We laid the charge which made him go to court,” said Paxman. “So, it’s going to be up to a judge and a prosecutor.”
Supina is scheduled to appear in court March 24.
Members of the Traffic Response Unit continue to investigate the collision.