Yesterday, during the evening commute, a 13-year-old girl jumped out of her mother's SUV and was struck by another vehicle on the Staten Island Expressway. The teen is reportedly autistic.
The girl jumped into the HOV lane after 6 p.m. as her mother's car was going 40 mph. According to the Staten Island Advance, "One vehicle traveling in the HOV stopped short to avoid the girl, but another vehicle behind the first, a 2010 Honda Element, swerved to avoid the first, and hit her, sources said." (The Post says the car ran over her.) A police source added, "They were not involved in an accident. She exited the vehicle of her own volition."
The girl, who suffered internal injuries and a broken leg, is in critical condition at Staten Island University North Hospital.
Update: It seems that the girl didn't want to go to her father's house. The Daily News reports, "McKailla Callender, who is autistic, was in the back seat of her mother's 2011 Nissan at 6 p.m. Monday, arguing about being dropped off at her father's house when she opened the door of the moving car door and jumped out."
