Mother with 3 children walking to school hit by pickup truck

MORENO VALLEY — A mother pushing a baby stroller and her three children were hospitalized after they were struck down by a motorist this morning, Tuesday, Sept. 18. The major injury traffic collision happened in the area of Bay Ave. and Sunbright Dr., south of Creekside Elementary School, in Moreno Valley.

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City of Moreno Valley Police and Fire Departments, along with other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the area shortly before 7:45 a.m., after receiving multiple reports of a vehicle versus pedestrian traffic collision, Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Tony Hoxmeier explained after the accident.

911 callers reported that a pickup truck had hit four pedestrians, including three children, and that all four pedestrians were down in the roadway with various serious injuries.

Officials began arriving within minutes and confirmed a Toyota pickup truck had struck a mother and her three children while they were on their way to school.

Officials have not specified the ages of the three juveniles, but witnesses at the scene later reported one of the victims had been a young child in a stroller.

Paramedics immediately began evaluating and treating the four victims, and the mother and three children were soon transported to a local hospital for treatment of “non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Hoxmeier.

“Three victims suffered serious injuries and one victim suffered minor injuries,” Cal Fire spokesperson Tawny Cabral later explained in an incident report.

Based on the circumstances, members of Moreno Valley PD’s Traffic Reconstruction Team responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.

“The driver of the vehicle stayed on scene and is cooperating with the investigation,” Hoxmeier explained.

Alcohol and drug intoxication do not appear to be factors in this collision.

While officials investigated the cause of the accident they called for the temporary closure of all lanes of traffic on Bay Ave., between Rockcrest Dr. and Heacock St. The roadway remained closed for about three hours and was reopened around 10:30 a.m.

Moreno Valley PD used the opportunity to remind all area drivers that school is back in session and to use extra caution while driving around schools and during school hours.

Anyone who witnessed this collision and has not yet provided a statement to officials is encouraged to contact Moreno Valley PD at (951) 486-6700. Callers can refer to incident file number MV182610078 and can remain anonymous.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.