CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. — After a close call at a crosswalk, a Cedar Springs child care center is encouraging parents to talk to their children about traffic safety.
On Monday, The Village Learning Center posted on its Facebook page a video of two minors who narrowly avoided being hit by an oncoming truck as they crossed the intersection of North Main Street Northeast and West Pine Street Northeast.
"We have decided to share this not in an effort to shame these children but in hopes that a parent may see it and have a conversation that saves their lives," The Village Learning Center said in the post, adding a "similar incident" happened the prior week.
On Tuesday, I spoke with owner Jen Ruwersma about the close call.
"All of our hearts stopped," Ruwersma said. "We all thought the first kid had been hit. I don't know how he possibly made it across the road."
"He definitely had guardian angels with him," she said.
While the driver in the video from Monday had the right of way, Ruwersma says there have been "quite a few instances" where drivers have been in the wrong and "nearly turned into kids crossing the road."
"For the most part, people are good. But you do see those that go by awful fast," said James Bishop, an employee at AC Auto Sales, a used car dealership located at the intersection.
"It is pretty well policed," he said. "People need more patience."
Bishop says he spends a lot of time looking at the cars and people who cross the intersection. Thankfully, he didn't have to witness the scene of a crash on Monday.
"Thank God that driver was paying attention," Ruwersma said. "That kid's so lucky to be alive."
