HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A family is mourning the loss of a beloved teenager who was struck and killed by a driver while walking home from work Sunday evening in Henrico County.
Nathaniel Clark, a 15-year-old sophomore at Hermitage High School, was crossing Staples Mill Road near Hungary Springs Road around 8 p.m. Sunday when he was struck by a westbound car. Clark was crossing mid-block when he was killed, according to Henrico Police.
Clark’s mother said her son loved taking pictures and had recently started his first job at Firehouse Subs, near the crash site. He was working to earn money to purchase equipment for his new hobby.
"He wanted to save money to buy a new lens for his camera," his mother Ashley Fisher, said. "He loved taking pictures of all the high school games, track meets, the basketball games. Even when he played basketball, he liked to stop and take pictures.”
Fisher said she was coming home from her job at a Bon Secours health facility on Sunday when she tried texting her son.
She grew worried when she didn’t hear back.
She tried calling home and then stopped by his work to check on him.
“He usually likes to walk home, he doesn’t usually like for me to pick him up and last night I was coming home from my 12-hour shift and when I got to the stop light, I just saw all the cars,” Fisher said. “I just knew it was him. I just felt it- a mother’s intuition. I knew it was my baby.”
Reeling from their loss, the family said they are making plans for a prayer vigil in Clark’s honor.
They also said they were grateful for the support that is pouring in from the community, including from Clark’s classmates and principal.
"It is with a heavy heart that I am reaching out to you about a loss to our Panther community. With permission from his family, I am writing to inform you that one of our 10th-grade students, Nathaniel Clark, passed away in a tragic accident Sunday night," Principal Dr. Michael A. Jackson wrote in an email to the community. "In times like these, we are naturally reminded of the importance of community. We want to wrap our arms around the young man’s family as they cope with their profound loss. Signing this virtual sympathy card allows our students, families, and staff to share their condolences while also respecting the family’s privacy. We will deliver the card and other remembrances to the family in a few days. In closing, I want to express my gratitude for the compassion and kindness I witnessed in our hallways and classrooms today. I am comforted to know that we can lean on one another for strength."
Fisher called her son’s death a tragic accident and is praying for the driver of the car.
“There’s going to be a day when everybody has gone back to their normal life and that’s when we’re really going to need the support and he’s got a younger brother and he’s going to need that too,” Fisher said.
Fisher said Firehouse Subs was working to help her family raise funds for funeral expenses through a GoFundMe account and donation boxes at select Firehouse locations.
While this is not the only potential fix to the deadly problem, Henrico Police Assistant Chief Lauren Edwards said they wanted people to know about their free reflective vest program for pedestrians.
"If there is a sidewalk, obviously use it. If that infrastructure is not yet in place, then make sure you are using parking lots along the side of the roadways instead of walking in the roadways," she said.
Edwards also emphasized that it is important for drivers to limit distractions, keep their headlights on, and always scan the road for pedestrians.
"We all have to work together to decrease these types of incidents so that we do not have to continue having these conversations," she said.
Henrico Police stated that anyone who wants a reflective vest can pick one up at Henrico Public Safety Buildings, government buildings, and public libraries.
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