A 9-year-old boy is being treated in a local hospital after he was struck by a driver Friday afternoon on Wheeler Road SE, just two blocks away from where two children were seriously injured by a driver on “Walk to School Day” in October.

The child, who was crossing the street alone after leaving KIPP DC Honor Academy around 2 p.m., was hit by an adult male driving a Nissan sedan with D.C. plates. The driver remained on the scene and is cooperating with authorities, police say.

Nineteen people have been killed by car drivers east of the Anacostia River this year, with most fatalities — 13 — occurring in Ward 7. Twenty people have been killed by drivers in all other wards, combined, according to city data.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser joined police Friday to give remarks at the scene of the crash. The mayor recently announced efforts to step up pedestrian safety efforts around schools, and D.C. announced earlier this week that it planned to install a speed camera nearby, in the 3400 block of Wheeler Road SE. A study by the District Department of Transportation identified the area as a “high crash corridor.” The mayor has asked DDOT to close the road “for an extended period of time” while traffic cameras are installed.

“We’re in an area located near three elementary schools. This is a focus area for MPD additional traffic enforcement around schools,” Bowser told reporters. “As you know, our priorities are around the hours around school dismissal and school arrival.”

The boy had left school early and was walking to a parent’s car when he was struck, according to a spokesperson for KIPP schools.

After D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) posted on Instagram about Friday’s crash, a woman identifying herself as the child’s mother posted a comment saying she plans to make an official statement about the incident. DCist/WAMU messaged the woman seeking to confirm her identity, but we have not received a response.

“I’m very concerned, and our thoughts are certainly with this young person and his entire family,” Mayor Bowser said Friday. “We have to stop being distracted while we drive and be mindful of young people moving around.”

The crash took place just a few months after a 5-year-old girl was killed by a driver while riding her bicycle through an intersection in Brookland.

Six years after Bowser announced Vision Zero, a program with the goal to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by 2024, traffic fatalities have continued to rise every year except in 2019. The Office of the D.C. Auditor announced in September that it would undertake a 10-month investigation of the program.