“He was a happy boy, empathetic which you don't see a lot in kids,” Genny Sexton said about her son Steeler Seaburn. “He was protective, so protective of the younger kids. He loved God, loved his family, loved his friends, loved his coaches.”
Steeler Seaburn died after someone driving a car on Farm Road 94 in April struck and killed him and then left the scene. “Somebody knows. That would be my request,” Sexton said. “Even if it is your family member, we need the closure.” Missouri State Highway Patrol Troopers are still searching for the driver. In a preliminary report released this week, investigators say Seaburn was standing, sitting or lying in the road.
“A car versus pedestrian there is almost no way someone can survive that,” Springfield Cpl. Matt Brown said. Springfield police are investigating two other recent crashes involving pedestrians. In May, Joshua Tucker was hit by a car on U.S. 65. According to a police report the driver recognized a person lying in the road prior to impact. “Not just the fatalities that have occurred with the vehicle versus pedestrian, also vehicle versus vehicle a lot of the common thread is someone is on a cell phone while these have occurred,” Brown said. “We reiterate the same thing we've been saying for years which is you've got to get off your cell phone when you are traveling on the road.”
In June, Justin Clark was killed when he was hit by a car on west Walnut Lawn. The driver told police she looked down at her cell phone and did not see Clark until it was too late. Witnesses say Clark was sitting in the roadway.
The Springfield police chief recently said the current number of fatal crashes involving pedestrians is much higher than what officers usually see. The chief asked drivers to watch for pedestrians along the roadways.
Anyone with information on the driver who hit Steeler Seaburn is urged to call 417-895-6868.
