Driver Stopped, Then Took Off After Hitting Mother, Child: PD

A driver who hit a woman and her child on foot got out of his vehicle, assessed the scene and the drove off without helping them, San Diego Police say.

 The mother had a bag of groceries in hand as she and her 4-year-old daughter crossed Paradise Valley Road at Briarwood at 6:15 p.m., said SDPD Lt. Steve Shaw.

Although they were in the Bay Terraces crosswalk, they were walking against a red light, so vehicles on the busy road had the right of way.

As the driver entered the intersection, he struck the two people.

“The minivan just hit her,” witness Diego Arroyo said of the woman in her 30s. “She kind of got airborne and rolled and just landed on the ground.”

He said when the dust settled, he saw the child clutching her mother’s side, bawling.

The 16-year-old immediately jumped into action to help the girl.

“She was crying. She had blood coming from her head right here,” he said, pointing to his temple.

He said the mother was screaming but moved very little. Others rushed to the scene to try to comfort her, but she started going in and out, according to Arroyo.

In the chaos, as he called 911, Arroyo said he spoke to a man in a beige suit who was also on the phone.

“He said, ‘Are you on the phone with police?’ And I said ‘Yes. I’m on hold.’ He hung up his phone and then turned around and left,” said Arroyo.

Police later told him that man was the driver, who got out to look at the scene before driving off. He was last seen driving westbound on Paradise Valley Road.

Meanwhile, emergency crews decided to land a helicopter on the road to airlift the child.

The 4-year-old had a head injury, but it was not life threatening, Lt. Shaw said. Her mother, who was taken away by ambulance, also suffered non-life threating injuries.

“It makes me feel a lot better, like relieved because they lifeflighted the baby,” said Arroyo.

The SDPD is now looking for the suspect, who is described as a tall, dark-skinned man with a thin build, wearing glasses and a suit.

Witnesses say his vehicle was a dark-colored minivan or SUV with rounded corners, front end damage and damage to the driver’s side.

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