Metro

An Amtran bus struck and seriously injured a 13-year-old pedestrian early Friday evening on Kettle Street, about a block and a half from Pleasant Valley Boulevard, according to the child’s mother.

Brooklyn Beers was on a walk with her brother, and the pair had just started to cross the street, when the bus came around a corner, taking them by surprise and hitting the girl, who was thrown 20 feet, according to Holly Bettwy, who spoke to the Mirror by phone Saturday.

Brooklyn was taken by medical helicopter to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she is in stable condition and conscious, but with a fractured forehead, a fracture at the base of her skull, both eye sockets broken, her nose socket broken, two fractures of the jaw, a Stage 2 liver laceration, pulmonary bruising and some skin scraped from her face, Bettwy said.

Doctors hadn’t provided a long-term prognosis as of Saturday afternoon, according to Bettwy.

Altoona police are investigating and plan to review video taken from the bus, said city Police Chief Derek Swope Saturday.

The police will likely be able to share more information about the accident by today, Swope said.

The accident occurred on the 700 block of Kettle Street, between East Caroline and East Hudson avenues, Swope said.

The family, which lives less than a block from where Brooklyn was hit, would like for any businesses or families that may have surveillance video of the incident to share it with police, according to Bettwy.

Amtran is also investigating the accident, said Amtran CEO Michele Barnes on Sunday.

The organization will issue a press release about the accident when that investigation and the police investigation are complete, according to Barnes.

“We’re keeping the family in our thoughts,” Barnes said.

She thanked the first responders who took care of the victim after she was struck, Barnes said.

Barnes declined to answer several other questions, except to say that the organization carries insurance that could come into play in connection with what happened.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.