SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ (AZFamily) — Frustration and concerns are growing in San Tan Valley after three kids were hit by cars in the last 10 days.
Two of the cases happened in the same exact neighborhood and those two boys are still in the hospital recovering.
Both boys were hit as they were walking along West Saddle Way and Johnson Ranch in San Tan Valley.
“It’s probably the most terrifying thing I’ve ever had to go through. Parents’ worst nightmare,” said Marnie Cook, a mother whose son was hit Thursday night. “I’m numb. I’m loss for words right now. I know it’s going to be a long recovery. He will have multiple surgeries.”
Since last night, Cook and her family have been at the Banner Children’s Hospital, 36 miles away from where her 13-year-old son was walking when he was hit.
“He was on the curb walking home in front of the house and he was hit by a vehicle. They stopped, saw that they hit him and then took off, and he was left laying (sic) in the bushes,” she said tearfully.
Cook’s son, Michael Gonzalez, was taken to the same hospital as another teen boy hit near the same intersection last week.
According to that 16-year-old’s family, he was walking toward his school bus and before making it across the crosswalk, he was hit. That driver stayed at the scene.
“I wish there was something more that we could do. Come together as a community, contact the HOA, whoever we need to to get resources out there, more speed bumps, more lighting,” Cook explained. “This has been too many situations in such a short time.”
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who sees a damaged four-door Kia sedan from 2016-2024 in white, black or gray, to report it.
“I just hope that whoever did this will do the right thing and come forward. I understand accidents happen, but you don’t leave a child that severely hurt,” said Cook.
By sharing her family’s story, she hopes it serves as a reminder to pay attention when driving and follow posted speed limits.
“There’s so many children who play in San Tan Valley and it’s not worth any parent to have to live this nightmare,” she reiterated.
Arizona’s Family received several emails from neighbors complaining about the crashes, citing traffic in the area because of nearby construction.
But at least two of the three cases had nothing to do with any road projects.
We did, however, learn that the Arizona Department of Transportation and Pinal County plan to delay any further work on Hunt Highway due to the ongoing complaints from residents.
Pinal County Development Services shared the following information:
“Hunt Highway will have no further peak-hour restrictions until the other permitting work on Gantzel is completed. The development work and lane restrictions at Gantzel & Empire Blvd will continue through only the end of next week. All development or utility-permitted work will no longer be permitted to close lanes during peak-hour travel on Gantzel Road moving forward, if a closure is necessary for a 24-hour period they will be required to build work zone detours and/or work at night to ensure two lanes of travel either direction.”
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
