A 9-year-old boy is still recovering more than three weeks after he was hit by a car while walking home from school in Memphis.
“Like a bad dream because you’re not expecting when you go to work, and you get off, and you get a phone call saying your child was hit by a car,” said Monica Weston, Jorden Weston’s mother.
Jorden Weston was hit by a car January 31 while walking home from Jackson Elementary School.
It happened near Jackson Avenue and Wales Road.
“He can’t walk around. He can’t fix his own food,” said Weston.
The single mother of four explained her active third grader suffered a concussion, broken femur and bruised liver, and now he needs a wheelchair and walker to get around. Weston said she had to take off work for several days to care for her son and just recently returned to her job on a part-time basis, putting her behind on bills.
Weston said if there were more crossing guards near the school and busy Jackson Avenue this wouldn’t have happened.
Memphis Police said a crossing guard is assigned to the school, but the accident happened nearly 150 yards away from where they work.
Weston also said as much as Jorden wants to go back to school he can’t, and a teacher comes by the house twice a week.
“They have steps, and there’s no handicapped accessible, so he has to do homebound,” said Weston.
When we stopped by Jackson Elementary, we saw the school has stairs at all entrances.
When we asked about Weston’s concerns, Shelby County Schools sent us this statement:
Shelby County Schools is committed to ensuring that no student is excluded from participating in District programs and activities or denied the benefits of using District facilities. Because of this commitment, Shelby County Schools is working directly with this family to understand better and address their needs.
The family’s pastor is holding a fundraiser at 4:00 Sunday, February 26 at New Chicago Church of God in Christ 1137 Louisville Avenue in North Memphis.
They will be celebrating Jorden’s life and collecting donations to help the family with finances.
