Walpole boy shares story after being struck by apparent distracted driver

A 10-year-old Walpole boy struck by a car in a crosswalk Tuesday morning hopes to raise both money and awareness to make his streets safer.

James Robertson was walking his dog across a Fisher Street crosswalk outside his home when a car driven by an allegedly distracted driver struck him, throwing him into the middle of the street.

The fifth-graders was rushed to the hospital with a concussion, a large hematoma in the back of his head, a sprained ankle, road rash and many bumps and bruises.

“I got hit pretty hard,” James told Boston 25 News Wednesday. “The police said 40 to 45 miles per hour.”

James’s mother, Katrina Robertson, was on her way to work when she got the call. James’s grandmother had been home with him.

Had James been just a couple steps farther into the street, the impact could have killed him, she said.

A CT scan showed the bleeding in his head is between his skull and scalp, thankfully not in his brain.

“He’s an extremely lucky little boy, and the driver is also extremely lucky that things weren’t worse,” Robertson said.

The driver is facing a charge of negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Walpole Police tell Boston 25 News the young woman behind the wheel was distracted and admitted to taking her eyes off the road to tend to an infant she was caring for in the backseat.

>>RELATED: Charges pending against suspected distracted driver who hit child in Walpole

She finally saw James on the road at the last second, police said.

James is now working with his mom on a campaign to prevent other pedestrians from getting hurt. He wants to raise money to make improvements to crosswalks.

"Like a fresh coat of paint," James explained. "We also discussed making it similar to a speed bump."
He also reminded drivers, especially when they're in a hurry, to take the extra time to look for pedestrians.

“Try your hardest to look, especially when you know you’re going by a crosswalk, because there could be people there,” James said.

While James is still recovering, he says he has an entire community supporting him. He is grateful for the neighbors and complete strangers who ran to his side when he was lying in the road, as well as the first-responders and medical staff who took care of him.

“I told James, when bad things happen, you look for the helpers, because that makes things okay,” Robertson said. “So we found that we have lots of great helpers in our neighborhood, in our community, and that’s something to be really thankful for.”

Cox Media Group