West High student, 14, hit, killed in Salt Lake City while walking to school

SALT LAKE CITY — A 14-year-old boy was killed Wednesday morning after being hit by a vehicle while walking to school.

The accident marks the second auto-pedestrian collision in two days in Salt Lake City involving a high school student walking to school.

Just after 7 a.m., Edwin Cardoso was crossing 600 North at 900 West, in a crosswalk, when he was hit by a utility truck making a left turn, said Salt Lake City Police Lt. Brian Purvis.

Both the boy and the truck had a green light, but the truck failed to yield to the pedestrian, who had the right of way, Purvis said.

Cardoso, who was on his way to West High School, suffered a head injury. Just after 8:30 a.m., police announced he had died.

The Salt Lake City School District issued a statement about 11:30 a.m. on behalf of West High School.

"West High School is saddened by the tragic loss of one of our students. Edwin Cardoso, a ninth-grade student, was killed in an auto-pedestrian accident this morning.  Information about the accident has been shared with teachers and staff, and they have been asked to watch for any students who may be struggling as news of the accident spreads."

Jason Olsen, a spokesman for the school district, said the district is making school counselors available to any student who needs help.

"You have the student who passed away and that is tragic, but we also need to deal with the students who are now just learning about this," Olsen said. "We have counselors in place. We have a room set aside where they can have something to eat, something to drink and work through those feelings and the grieving process right now."

About 25 students initially sought support, he said, but that number continued to grow Wednesday as students found out more information about the accident during their lunch hour.

"This is two in two days, and it's not what we want to happen," Olsen said.

He urged both drivers and pedestrians to be extra careful around crosswalks.

Yellow police tape surrounded a large area of the intersection Wednesday morning as detectives investigated the accident. A backpack and other items from Cardoso remained in the middle of the street, close to the crosswalk.

A man who said he was the father of the driver who hit Cardoso said his son, 19, was extremely shaken by the incident. Purvis said there were no signs of impairment. He said the roads were wet and it was still dark at the time of the accident.

"I feel horrible about it," said Eusebio Echeveste, a senior at West High. "I saw the parents this morning, and it was actually just tragic to see the mom crying. Other drivers should be careful, even when you are yielding. That was the main problem because they were both green and he didn't look out."

Gerardo Galvez said he was driving to school with his friends and was rerouted because of the accident. Galvez said he found out what had happened after he got to school.

"A lot of my friends told me that some kid got ran over, and then I heard that it was Edwin," he said. "He was an acquaintance. It's really sad to see him pass away."

Tuesday morning, a 16-year-old East High School student was hit while crossing the street near the school. The boy was not in a crosswalk.

"Unfortunately, it tends to happen in the fall when the weather changes," Purvis said. "The time change hasn't happened yet, so when the kids are walking to school, it's still dark, there's a lot of traffic on the road … and it can be very difficult to see people."

Contributing: Jeff Finley

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com

Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam