A driver hit a student at the University of Texas at El Paso on the first day of the fall semester.

Her family says the crosswalk the student was walking in is dangerous and needs to be fixed.

"With the return of student, staff and faculty to school traffic increases as so does pedestrian traffic," said UTEP's Chief of Police, Cliff Walsh.

Despite added patrols in the area, Brittany Gamez was hit Monday morning when trying to get across the first cross walk along Schuster Avenue.

"Well I thought she had been in a car accident. I never, I never dreamed she'd been hit by a car," said Brittany's mom Teresa Gamez.

Gamez also said she is thankful her daughter is alive but her injuries are so bad she can't walk just yet and now she's missing the start of her sophomore year.

"She does have some broken bones and she's going to need a lot of rehab and surgery to repair some of the bones that were broken in her face and her mouth," she said.

Gamez and Britney's friends, who are also students at UTEP, now want to see a change before someone else is hit.

"It's just kind of hectic sometimes. When I'm late I know I'm speeding and so are other people trying to get to class. I think maybe they could build bridges over the road instead of having students cross the road and stop traffic," said Kathryn Tomaka, a junior at UTEP.

Walsh said the university is working with the city to make the road safer for pedestrians.

"Well there's been some discussion about some extra lighting, additional lighting at the crosswalk areas as well as street design," he said.

The city said a traffic study is underway but will take time because improvements have to match up with UTEP's master plan, which could include more buildings and parking garages.

Walsh said UTEP is also working with the Texas Department of Transportation.

"Not only are we working with the city to enhance the traffic management of the area and the area around UTEP but also SPUR 1966 that's in the works with TxDOT," he said.

The SPUR 1966 it will connect Paisano Drive to Schuster Avenue and includes a small round about to help traffic flow. Plans also include an underpass for pedestrians.