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Residents question road's safety after Raleigh teen hit by car

Residents living near the site where a 15-year-old boy was hit by a car Sunday afternoon say something needs to be done to make the area safer for pedestrians.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Residents living near the site where a 15-year-old boy was hit by a car Sunday afternoon say something needs to be done to make the Raleigh road safer for pedestrians.

Juwan Christopher Harrington and two other people were walking across the 1400 block of North Raleigh Boulevard around 2:30 p.m. when Harrington, the last one to cross, was hit.

He was listed in critical condition Sunday night at WakeMed.

Jequan Irving said his son has a broken leg and hemorrhaging in his brain but is confident that he will be OK.

Neighbors said Monday that Harrington's accident is the worst they've seen but that there have been plenty of close calls involving people crossing the street to go to school or to a nearby store.

They say there's nowhere safe to cross for nearly a mile and that they would like to see a stop sign or crosswalk in the area.

"If you're not exactly on point, of if you don't run across the street, you will get hit," said neighbor Prianna Weathers. "There's nothing from Raleigh Boulevard and Glascock (Street) to Crabtree (Boulevard) to protect any of us that live over here."

Mike Kennon, the city of Raleigh's transportation and operation manager, says the city needs to hear complaints from residents before it considers making changes.

Residents can write letters, call or submit a report online for the city to evaluate an area to determine if further safety measures are needed.

"We're going to look at traffic counts. We're going to look at safety history – those types of things to determine what's appropriate," Kennon said.

As for Harrington's accident, Raleigh police say they are still investigating and haven't decided if charges will be filed against Marcus Alfonso Kearse, 22, the driver who hit Harrington.

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