Child hit by SUV seriously injured

Terry Richards, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·1 min read

Apr. 24—TIFTON — A child at a Tift County elementary school was seriously injured Tuesday when he ran out in front of a vehicle.

Around 3 p.m., troopers heard radio traffic from Tifton police about a child hit by an SUV in front of Len Lastinger Primary School, 1210 Lake Drive. A 5-year-old boy was walking home from school with his siblings when they came to the edge of Lake Drive, a statement from the Georgia State Patrol said.

Cars were parked along the shoulder of Lake Drive and some were stopped in the southbound lane waiting to pick up kids from school, the statement said.

The boy began to run across Lake Drive within a crosswalk but wound up in front of an SUV heading north; the front of the vehicle hit the child, the state patrol said.

The SUV's driver, a 71-year-old woman, immediately stopped and tried to help the boy. There was no indication that speed was a factor, the statement said.

The boy was rushed to Tift Regional Hospital and then airlifted to a Jacksonville, Fla., hospital with serious injuries.

The accident is under investigation but no charges are expected, the GSP said.