Kitsap Lake first-grader hit by vehicle, airlifted to Harborview

A Kitsap Lake Elementary School first-grader was hit by a vehicle Friday morning while waiting for the school bus on Werner Road in Bremerton, according to the Bremerton School District and Kitsap County Sheriff's Office.

The 6-year-old boy was taken to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton and subsequently airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with lacerations and a dislocated hip, according to Deputy Scott Wilson, KCSO spokesman.

The 911 call came in to dispatchers at 8:10 a.m., Wilson said. The boy was waiting at the bus stop on Werner at its intersection with Eden Road. His mother was parked in a vehicle across the street when the boy decided he needed to talk to her and ran across the road.

BSD spokeswoman Patty Glaser said the boy may have forgotten something and ran across the street to retrieve it, but the exact details are not clear.

Wilson said there was a vehicle heading westbound on Werner approaching the bus stop and the boy waited for that vehicle to pass before crossing the street. He did not see the 1994 Dodge Ram van driving eastbound and ran out in front of it.

The 53-year-old man driving the van braked and skidded 15 feet, but could not avoid hitting the boy, according to Wilson.

"It just appears the little boy wasn't paying attention eastbound and darted out in front of traffic," Wilson said.

The van that struck the boy is registered to Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority, according to Wilson.

The road was closed for one hour while police investigated the incident.