Sisters hit by car in Tarentum while walking in crosswalk, family calling for safety changes

TARENTUM, Pa. — Two sisters are home recovering after they were hit by a car while walking in a crosswalk in Tarentum last week.

Alei Luther, 14, said the horrific moment replays over and over in her head.

“It’s just hard to go to sleep because every time I sleep, I dream about that whole day,” Alei said. “Right when that car hits me is exactly when I wake up from my dream.”

Alei was at the park with her sister Natalie Orr, 11, and her cousin Riley Myers, 15, on Friday, Aug. 2. They said they were heading home, walking in the crosswalk at Ross Street and E. Ninth Avenue near the Tarentum bridge when a car came out of nowhere and hit the two sisters.

“I just started screaming,” Alei said as tears rolled down her face. “I tried getting up because I saw Natalie on the ground. Sorry. Then, I tried to get up to get to her, but I couldn’t get up.”

Riley saw it happen and quickly ran to get Alei’s mom.

“Natalie, I thought she was dead,” Riley said. “She was unconscious. She wasn’t even....”

Alei added, “She wasn’t moving at all or anything.”

The girls were seriously hurt. They spent the weekend in the hospital.

Alei broke her finger and her leg. She now has a metal rod in it and is using a walker to get around. She’s had two surgeries on her leg and had surgery on her finger this Thursday.

“Right here, there’s a line of stitches,” Alei said. “My finger was bent to the side 90 degrees; my whole leg twisted; my bone was popping out.”

Her sister Natalie has a broken pelvic bone and ribs, and a punctured lung. She also has road rash from head to toe.

Both sisters are traumatized.

“I don’t want to go up there,” Alei said.

She and her family want drivers to slow down. They plan on pushing to get a stop sign installed at the busy intersection.

“I just don’t want no one else getting hurt because I almost died and so did my sister Natalie,” Alei said. “I’m happy I didn’t die because I have so many people that love me.”

Tarentum Police told Channel 11 that the driver stayed on scene and was not speeding. They’re still investigating the crash.

Meantime, Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf said they’re working with PennDOT to make upgrades to the crosswalk to help prevent deaths.

“Ross Street is owned and typically controlled by PennDOT,” Boddorf said in a statement. “Public safety is a top priority for Tarentum Borough. We collaborate closely with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents and community.”

PennDOT plans on painting stripes inside the crosswalk, known as a “piano key style” so it’s easily seen. Pedestrian warning signs will also be added.

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