Family of girl struck by truck hope incident can teach a lesson

OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A 13-year-old girl is recovering in Ottawa County after being hit by a car on her way to the bus stop.

The incident happened just after 7:00 am Wednesday near the intersection of 40^th Avenue and Sherman Boulevard near Ravenna. The driver who struck the girl admitted to being distracted by his cell phone.

The victim is reported to be in serious condition but should survive her ordeal, which is teaching many people some painful lessons.

13-year-old Paige Holtz was on her way to the bus stop, walking down a gravel road in the dark, just a short distance from her house. Holtz was wearing dark clothing at the time. At the same time, a truck was barreling down behind her, and the driver, Jon Cardinal, reached down to grab a phone that fell off the seat.

Holtz was struck from behind and thrown forward by the impact.

At first, Holtz was listed in critical condition, which has since been upgraded to serious. Her family told her principal that she is going to survive.

"Paige is a really neat young lady," said Ravenna High School Principal Scoot Cousineau, "we're just shell-shocked here this morning. The bottom line, she's a great kid and we're praying for her."

Wednesday was a very tough day for students at Paige's school, with leaders there trying to calm everyone down.

"Our kids have handled it really well today, we're very pleased with them,' said Cousineau. "One of the reasons is that we were up front with them, we've let them know what's going on."

As the long Wednesday wore on, it appeared that Holtz was holding on and able to talk with her family.

Her family indicated that Paige was wearing an iPod while she walked to the bus stop and couldn't hear the truck coming. They all hope it's a lesson that has been learned.

The family told Newschannel 3 that "iPods are part of everyday life for many teens. We encourage parents to remind their teens to walk facing traffic instead of having traffic at their back. We realize teenagers won't stop listening to music, but if they are facing traffic, at least they can see what's coming. If Paige was walking facing traffic, her accident may have been prevented."

As of late Wednesday afternoon, deputies told Newschannel 3 that they still haven't made a final decision as to whether the driver of the truck will face criminal charges in the incident.