Boy, 11, Fatally Struck by Pickup Truck During School Walkout Protesting Gun Violence
A Texas boy was killed last week during a school walkout to protest gun violence.
Jonathan Benko, 11, was among 12 to 15 other students from Parkland Middle School in El Paso who had reportedly chosen not to participate in the walkout and, instead, decided to go to a park across a highway from the campus.
The sixth grader was the last of the students to attempt to cross the road when he was struck by a Ford F-150, according to The New York Times.
Benko was killed. No other students were injured.
The driver of the truck stopped and stayed at the scene, police said during a press conference. He was not charged.
"It’s next to impossible for motorists to move out of the way of pedestrians on the roadway and that’s why it’s a restricted passage," police spokesman Sgt. Robert Gomez told reporters Friday.
The walkout was one of many across the country timed to coincide with the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.
"Obviously, everybody’s in a state of shock," Xavier De La Torre, the superintendent of the Ysleta Independent School District, told said during the press conference.
RELATED STORIES
Parkland Students Perform Song Inspired by Victim Alex Schachter's Poem at Benefit Concert
Father of Parkland Shooting Victim Said He Doesn't Want Cruz's Inheritance Money
Parkland Shooting Suspect Nikolas Cruz Will Donate His Inheritance to Charity: Lawyers
