‘Tragic;’ Shocking video captures car hit family in crosswalk, drag girl on bike half a mile

DAYTON — A nearby business caught the moment a car hit multiple people in a crosswalk, dragging a 9-year-old on a bike half a mile.

Around 9 p.m. Monday, Dayton police were called to reports of a child hit by a car at Wayne Avenue and Clover Street.

News Center 7 is speaking with the family. Hear their words on News Center 7 at 6:00

Matt Miller owns Carl’s Body Shop on Wayne Avenue, his cameras caught the shocking scene.

“The parents are running, chasing the guy, and he keeps going,” he said.

His cameras caught the startling moments the car hit the family, dragging the child.

>> 9-year-old girl hit by SUV, dragged half mile down road; Man arrested

Sparks fly as the driver, identified as Jeffrey Atkinson, drags the 9-year-old girl around half a mile down Wayne Avenue.

She survived but is in intensive care and is expected to need multiple surgeries.

“What happened was tragic, for everybody,” Miller said.

Including his employee Steven Arthur.

“Waiting for the next call to come in, I hear a crunch and I’m just sitting back watching the TV, I hear the crunch, I hear the screaming, I jumped up, I run out the front door and I see the family clinging to the side of the jeep trying to get them to stop,” Arthur said.

He called police and then used his tow truck to block traffic.

“Seeing that it took a mental toll on me,” Arthur said. “I lost my fiance to a drunk driver and seeing these people come in, seeing their family members on the side of the road ... I didn’t get to see my fiance.”

A Dayton police crash report states that Atkinson was arrested on initial charges of OVI, leaving the scene of an accident, and vehicular assault.

“You’re risking your life, you’re risking other people’s lives, now this little girl is probably going to be crippled for the rest of her life. She didn’t deserve it. Nobody deserves it,” Arthur said.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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