15-year-old saving for new camera lens killed while walking home from work, mom says

A 15-year-old who was trying to save for new photography equipment was walking home from work in Virginia when he was hit and killed by a car, his family said.

Nathaniel Clark died the evening of Sunday, Sept. 8, after he tried to cross a six-lane road mid-block and was hit by a Nissan, the Henrico County Police Department said in a news release.

His mother, Ashley Fisher, said he was leaving work at Firehouse Subs. She called her son independent and responsible.

“He usually likes to walk home, he doesn’t usually like for me to pick him up,” Fisher said in an interview broadcast by WTVR. “And (Sunday) night I was coming home from my 12-hour shift and when I got to the stop light, I just saw all the cars.”

She said she knew it was her son.

“He wanted to save money to buy a new lens for his camera,” Fisher told the outlet. “He loved taking pictures of all the high school games, track meets, the basketball games.”

She told WRIC that her son was also interested in sports commentary and could reference players’ statistics off the cuff.

“He was a great kid,” Fisher said. “He was just walking home. It was an accident.”

The Nissan stayed on the scene, and police said alcohol didn’t appear to be involved in the crash that occurred just after 8 p.m.

Less than two weeks earlier, another fatal crash happened on the same road about three miles north from where Nathaniel died, McClatchy News reported. A 2-year-old girl wandered away from home after being left with a babysitter and was hit by a car.

Henrico County is part of the Richmond metropolitan area.

This story was originally published September 10, 2024 at 12:47 PM with the headline "15-year-old saving for new camera lens killed while walking home from work, mom says."