An 8-year-old girl is in an induced coma after she was hit by a pickup truck in Seminole County.
It happened around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday at West Town Parkway and Bunnell Road, near the West Town Corners shopping plaza off State Road 434.
Police said Kaila Strucke, her father Jeremy Strucke and the family dog were crossing south on West Town Parkway in the crosswalk and did not have the right of way.
According to witnesses at the scene, police said the cars had a green light.
The group, who was on their way to get ice cream, made it to the median. But Kaila continued to crash and stepped into the path of a Ford F-150 pickup.
The girl's father disputes the claim, saying he and his daughter walk that route each night to get groceries from a nearby Winn-Dixie.
Jeremy insisted his daughter followed the pedestrian walking signal, which indicated it was OK to cross.
She was transported to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando where she remains in the coma after swelling to her brain. He said the next three days will be crucial.
Kaila is a third-grader at Bear Lake Elementary School in Apopka. Her father said the school's principal called Thursday morning after hearing of the accident.
The family said Kaila's mother is from Japan and her grandfather is flying in today.
Police said the incident remains an open investigation. They said they are reinterviewing people who were at the scene, including Jeremy. Police said investigators followed up on Jeremy's claim the light was green when they arrived on scene.
"The pedestrian also has due diligence to make sure that they are not crossing against traffic," said Officer Robert Pelton from the Altamonte Springs Police Department. "In this crosswalk area, it's listed when you can and can't cross. So with the vehicles having the green light, those pedestrians were crossing against the law and against traffic."
Police said charges will be not filed in the crash.