SEATTLE -- An accident that left a 12-year-old boy critically hurt has angered neighbors, who want the city of Seattle to restore the crosswalk where the boy was hit, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.

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Video: Accident Leaves Neighbors Angry Over Crosswalk

A sign marking the crosswalk, on 15th Avenue Northwest near Northwest 87th Street in the Crown Hill neighborhood, was taken down about a month ago. Last Thursday, Nicholas Messanger was trying to cross the street when he was struck by a car.

He is listed in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center.

Jose Paz ran to help Nicholas as he lay bleeding in the street.

"I'm surprised that he's alive, and I don't know why they took down this crosswalk because there used to be a sign," Paz said.

City officials said they took down the sign to dissuade people from crossing the street at that spot after a survey showed few people do.

"That's why we took the sign down because when you have a sign up it's suggesting that it's good place for people to cross at the signalized locations," said Peter Lagerwey of the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Nicholas is a sixth-grader at St. Alphonsus Catholic School. His mother told students and teachers that her son has suffered brain damage.