Chapel Hill parents walk for safety improvements after teens are hit by SUV

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Parents are calling for action after an SUV hit and seriously injured two middle-school students trying to cross a road in Chapel Hill.

The crash happened on New Year's Eve on Estes Drive as a 13- and 14-year-old used a crosswalk near Guy B. Phillips Middle School. The driver has been charged.

The 13-year-old is still fighting for her life at UNC Medical Center.

To make their concerns known, families and children walked down Estes Road on Friday past the middle and elementary schools all the way to the library.

They are asking for improved pedestrian walkways and for drivers to be more aware when they're driving through.

"It doesn't get any needier than this in terms of having a safe crosswalk to get to school," said Katharine Kollins, parent of one student at Phillips Middle School and another at Estes Hills Elementary. "We have a very busy road as it is. There are two schools, a public library and a speed limit of 35. This is also the only east-west thoroughfare through town."

Estes is a state road but parents are asking for the town to step things up, have a police officer monitor speeds on the road more and for the school system to always ensure there's a crossing guard there.