Accident Victim's Mom Hopes Awareness Campaign Makes Difference

The Southwind mom of two never knew how bad traffic at Haligus Road and Scott Drive could be in the morning, as school buses and Marlowe Middle School students converge on the campus.

Michelle learned just how dangerous it is one spring morning when she received a call from Marlowe staff telling her that her 12-year-old son, Nick, had been in an accident.

Nick’s accident helped spur parents, police and school officials to come together to make the intersection safer. Thursday, Huntley police will launch a public awareness campaign to remind motorist and pedestrians to be careful.

“My hope would be they make it safer to be there,” said Michelle, who asked her family’s last name not be used.

Terrible Accident

Nick was walking to school, as he has done on most days when the weather is nice. There is a bus that picks him up, but he lives just a few minutes away, within walking distance from the school.

“It’s good exercise, they like it,” Michelle said.

He was standing at Haligus and Scott, waiting for traffic to clear. A Marlowe staff member waiting to turn into the school driveway saw Nick and waved at him to cross, but a car in a different lane didn’t see him and struck him.

The school called Michelle right away.

Huntley Fire Protection District firefighters transported her son to Centegra Woodstock Hospital, and he later was transferred to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

He suffered a fractured pelvis, fractured skull and cuts, Michelle said. She had just bought Nick a new backpack that she feels helped with the impact when he hit the ground.

While he was hospitalized for a day, he still is healing.

This summer “he’s not going to be able to do the fun things kids should be doing,” she said.

“He really like playing baseball and he can’t for the whole season,” Michelle said. “He can’t roller blade. He can’t ride his bike. He can’t go into the water. The bone fractures have to heal.”

Emotionally, he’s doing well, she said.

“At first he was pretty upset and pretty scared but he’s doing OK,” Michelle said. He is a bit hesitant about taking walks with the family at the intersection and he hasn’t been walking to school.

A Thankful Mom

Michelle wants to thank everyone in the community for their support and their prayers. Huntley Police Chief John Perkins and Huntley Fire Protection District Chief James Saletta called to check on her son.

She read the comments on a Huntley Patch story and appreciated the caring comments. There were some rude comments, she said.

“I just let it go in one ear and out the other,” Michelle said of those who were critical of her family. “My focus was on getting my son healthy and better.”

She is grateful Nick is OK, she said, and hopes no one else has to go through the experience. She wants to see the intersection become safer.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Michelle said. “I definitely feel there was a guardian angel with him that day.”