9 Children Hit By Car in Front of Del Mar Heights School

SAN DIEGO, CA: Nine children and an adult were injured Friday afternoon when a car being driven by a 70-year-old woman jumped a curb and struck them in front of Del Mar Heights Elementary School, authorities reported.

The accident occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. alongside a parking lot at the campus in the 13500 block of Boquita Drive, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and the San Diego Police Department.

SDPD Officer Robert Heims said the driver was backing her Honda sedan into a parking stall when she hit a vehicle.

"She panicked after hitting the car," Heims said. "She put it in drive and hit the gas causing her to drive onto the sidewalk and hit 9 children and 1 adult. There were multiple injuries to all 10 victims."

Among those gathered on the sidewalk was an 11-month-old in a stroller, Heims said.

There were no life-threatening injuries, according to Heims, who said the most serious injury was a broken thighbone suffered by a 5-year-old child.

Medics took six of the injured youngsters to hospitals, SDFRD spokesman Lee Swanson said.

The driver of the 2012 Honda Civic that hit the children and a witness who fell while hurrying to the site of the accident to try to help were hurt superficially and did not require required hospital care, Swanson said.

Police traffic-division officers were investigating the crash to determine whether the driver should be cited. They did not immediately suspect that alcohol or drugs were factors.

Reports about the number of people injured fluctuated Friday afternoon as media outlets struggled to confirm injuries and the severity of them.

City News Service and Patch Local Editor Maggie Avants contributed to this report.

***Updated at 6:25 p.m. Pacific Time; Originally posted at 3:35 p.m. Pacific Time, May 13, 2016***

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