ST. LOUIS — A 17-year-old boy who attended Christian Brothers College High School died Friday night after being hit by a vehicle outside of Ted Drewes Frozen Custard on Chippewa Street.
Matthew Nikolai was identified as the victim on Saturday morning by police.
According to St. Louis police, Nikolai was struck at about 8:15 p.m. Friday. Early investigation by police says a pickup truck was traveling westbound on Chippewa Street.
Nikolai was walking from the Enterprise Bank & Trust parking lot towards Ted Drewes. The pickup truck struck Nikolai, causing him to fall into the eastbound lane where a Ford Fusion also struck Nikolai.
The pickup truck fled the scene continuing westbound on Chippewa, and the Fusion pulled over and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
Nikolai was not conscious or breathing when he was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation is underway.
In a Saturday evening post on its social media pages, CBC High School identified him as a rising senior at the school. Nikolai's brother is a current student at CBC and his father, uncle, and grandfather all attended the school.
"As our community grieves together, our prayers, support, and love are with his family and close friends during this most challenging time," the school said.
The school said it will open its chapel Sunday from 3-5 p.m. for anyone who would like to gather in prayer, and a prayer service will be held for the Class of 2023 at a later date.
Ward 16 St. Louis Alderman Tom Oldenburg tweeted Saturday night saying he spoke with Ted Drewes and would be working with him and the city of St. Louis "to find a solution and enhance safety."
This is the second person to be hit and killed outside of the Ted Drewes location this year. In May, a 77-year-old man was hit and killed by a vehicle while crossing the street where there was no crosswalk. The man was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Tiffany Harmon has lived in south City for 14 years and owns a business along Hampton Avenue.
She woke up furious and sad on Saturday morning when she heard that another life was lost along Chippewa Street.
Harmon thought that incident back in May would have been a wake-up call for the city of St. Louis.
"I assumed that after the first tragedy that we saw this summer that there would be some responsibility on the city to make some changes and unfortunately, haven't seen those changes happen," she said.
According to Harmon, accidents are a recurring problem.
"People are really flying down the streets. They're flying down the main thoroughfares like Hampton and Chippewa and Watson," she said.
It's not just the speed, though.
Harmon believes distracted driving is also to blame, which is why many want to see a crosswalk on Chippewa and barriers that would prevent cars from coming up on the sidewalk, where people are standing.
"It's gonna take a lot of things to work together to make sure that this is not a problem anymore and we can only hope from this situation that people will look up from their phones, the city will make some changes and keep their patrons safe," she said.
Police do not have any further description of the truck that hit Nikolai.
If you know anything, call police.
This is a developing story. Information will be updated as it is confirmed.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.