The video shows a student being hit by a truck in the parking lot of Hurricane High School

HURRICANE, Utah (KUTV) — Newly released video shows the moment a student was hit by a truck in a school parking lot.

The 16-year-old Hurricane High School student, whose identity is being withheld out of respect for her privacy, was seriously injured in the early morning hours of September 30.

The driver was reportedly not at the scene, raising concerns about how the school resource officer handled the case.

A report from the Hurricane City Police Department said the girl was walking in the school parking lot when she was struck by a truck driven by a 17-year-old student.

Surveillance footage obtained by the girl’s father weeks later and shared with KUTV 2News shows the truck did not stop before the collision.

The impact threw the girl about 10 feet.

Despite all the complexity of the situation, the driver went to class, and the girl was accompanied to the waiting room by a passer-by.

The father is outraged by the lack of responsibility

Trevor Sanders, a local attorney and the victim’s father, has been open about his frustration with the way the case was handled.

“I fundamentally believe that you can’t run over a girl in a high school parking lot, injure her very seriously, and then walk into a classroom without any accountability,” he said.

The driver was initially given no court order, which Sanders said left him “shocked.”

“The officer said to me, ‘The accident is not illegal,’ and I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This is nonsense – we have vehicle laws for a reason and we constantly criminalize behavior that causes accidents. Otherwise, why do we need a car code?” Sanders said.

However, Hurricane City Police Chief Kurt Yates said the department is taking the case seriously. The decision not to issue a report at the scene was determined by the circumstances of the incident.

“Because the cars were moved and the victim was taken to the office, it wasn’t easy to assess the scene,” Yates said. “We investigated it thoroughly, checked the footage with the city attorney’s office, and ultimately filed charges.”

Yates also clarified that while school resource officers have the same training and authority as street officers, the decision to charge someone in cases involving juveniles depends on the severity of the incident. That case was charged with reckless driving, but was later referred to juvenile court for adjudication.

“The charge wasn’t dropped — it was transferred,” Yates said.

Sanders said he had not yet received an update on the case and did not know if the charges had been re-filed or not.

KUTV 2News reached out to the city attorney’s office, but did not receive a response.

Long-term medical effects

For the girl who was injured, the consequences of the collision were life-changing.

“She’s a strong student and she didn’t want to fall behind,” Sanders said. “But her neurologist recommended that she take some time to let her brain rest and heal.”

He said she had “difficulty concentrating and retrieving her memory”.

A member of the high school swim team, the girl had to sit out the rest of the season because of the school district’s concussion protocol. The driver plays on the school football team.

“From her perspective, she was injured and unable to do what she loved, and the perpetrator was not responsible,” Sanders said. “He gets his season by living as if everything is just messy.”

Concerns about the police investigation

Sanders also criticized aspects of the investigation, calling it “very sloppy.” He noted that the driver’s testimony was not included in the initial police report.

Chief Yates acknowledged the lack of an initial statement, explaining that the driver had already left the scene. But he said he believed they put the statement together later. Sanders, however, said he saw no evidence of the driver’s statement in the police report.

Yates defended the department’s process, saying they treated the case the same as any other serious-injury accident.

“We had to review the evidence to file charges and follow due process rather than issue a citation at the scene,” Yates said.

Yates also added that while private property such as parking lots can affect traffic enforcement, officers in Hurricane are authorized to issue tickets and enforce laws within the Washington County School District.

KUTV 2News reached out to the school district about the incident, but they declined to comment.

Calls for change

Sanders said he did not intend to “destroy this driver’s life” but believes there should be consequences for his actions.

“It can be turned into a learning experience. If I were a judge, I would order him to talk to other students about how careless driving can change someone’s life in an instant,” he said. “Doing nothing is unacceptable.”

He also emphasized the need to change the way school professionals respond to incidents involving students.

“Just because someone is an athlete doesn’t mean they get a pass,” Sanders said. “Better policing and greater accountability can prevent this from happening again.”

Chief Yates said the incident was unfortunate and he wishes it had never happened. He said he wished “the best for the victim”.

The Sanders family is awaiting an update on whether the case will proceed to juvenile court. In the meantime, their daughter continues to recover and is scheduled to see a neurologist again in the new year.

For Sanders, the fight for justice is more than his daughter. The fact is that law enforcement agencies take these violations seriously.

“They can be prosecuted and they should be. The end,” he said.

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