District 11, city leaders look into making school commute safer after student hit and killed by car

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Doherty High School students went back to class Thursday after one of their classmates was killed after being hit by a car while walking to school.

"This morning has been very somber and very quiet," said Devra Ashby, a spokesperson for Colorado Springs School District 11.

Colorado Springs Police police confirmed the victim and the driver were both 17. District 11 told KRDO that the victim was a foreign exchange student from Italy and a three-sport athlete.

The school district and the City of Colorado Springs are now looking at how to make getting to school safer.

"This is the largest high school in District 11, so we know that there’s frustration out there because there have been several times when students have been hit or had close calls," said Ashby.

Colorado Springs city leaders say that it doesn't label roads in front of high schools as school zones.

"Last night at the board meeting, our board president and our superintendent addressed those things. They will start talks with Ashby.

In a statement city traffic engineer, Todd Frisbie says:

“City Traffic Engineering works in collaboration with school districts across the city to assess appropriate safety measures around our schools. Historically it has been the approach of the City not to place school zones in front of high schools, but instead to ensure signalized crossings are reasonably near schools to provide safe crossings for these students. However, we have been re-evaluating if that approach should change. Traffic Engineer will review the accident report from CSPD to better inform its findings or need for potential changes going forward, including at Doherty High School.”

City of Colorado Springs Todd Frisbie