Intoxicated Driver Struck 4 People, Including 2 Kids, In South Jersey Crosswalk: PD

NATIONAL PARK, NJ — An intoxicated driver struck four people, including two children and a crossing guard, near a South Jersey elementary school Thursday morning, police said.

At 8:38 a.m., officers responded to a reported vehicle-pedestrian collision with injuries at the intersection of Hessian and Grove Avenues. Police found that a vehicle struck the children and a woman as the crossing guard escorted them within a crosswalk, according to the West Deptford Police Department.

The intersection is a block away from National Park Elementary. (West Deptford PD handles law enforcement for National Park.)

An ambulance took the victims to Cooper University Hospital to determine the extent of their injuries.

Police identified the driver as Lanielle M. Phelps, 40, of West Deptford. She was charged with driving while intoxicated, endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of assault by auto.

Phelps was placed in the Salem County Correctional Facility, which provides jailing services for Gloucester County.

The incident remains under investigation.