Woman and child dead, second child injured, after trio struck outside Riverside school
RIVERSIDE, Calif — A traffic accident outside a Riverside elementary school left a woman and child dead and another child injured yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, March 15.
The three victims were using one of two marked crosswalks at the “T” intersection of Hayes and Roosevelt streets, along the southeast corner of Liberty Elementary School, when the fatal accident happened.
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City of Riverside police and fire personnel were dispatched to the scene around 3:53 p.m. after receiving reports of three people struck by an SUV outside the school, Riverside Police Sergeant Ryan Taack has since reported.
911 callers reported that CPR was being performed on at least one of the children and also reported that the driver who struck the trio had remained at the scene.
Clearly distraught, a Riverside police officer is seen discussing the fatal accident with other officers in the wake of yesterday’s fatal accident that killed two pedestrians. Johnny Lopez / Lone Wolf News and Media photo
Officials arrived to a chaotic scene and immediately assumed life-saving efforts for the two most critically injured victims. However, despite their efforts, the adult and one of the children succumbed to their injuries and passed away at the scene.
Their names have not yet been released, pending further investigation and notification of their families.
The second child was ultimately transported by ground ambulance to an area hospital for treatment of unspecified minor injuries.
Officials have not yet specified how or if the adult victim was related to the two children.
An officer is seen setting up equipment to aid in yesterday’s hours-long accident investigation. Johnny Lopez / Lone Wolf News and Media photo
During their subsequent investigation, members of Riverside PD’s Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) determined the driver who struck the victims, a 46-year-old Riverside resident whose name has not been revealed, was traveling westbound on Hayes Street approaching Roosevelt Street in a blue 2020 Range Rover.
“The vehicle proceeded into the intersection as the adult female and the two juveniles began crossing Roosevelt Street in the marked crosswalk,” Taack explained. “The vehicle then made a southbound turn onto Roosevelt Street, striking all three pedestrians as they were crossing the roadway.”
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As reported by Press Enterprise, yesterday’s fatal crash sparked outrage among parents and area residents, who say they have long been asking for additional safety measures and patrols in the neighborhood, with many of the parents citing several recent incidents involving unsafe driving actions including drivers who speed, who drive while distracted by their phones, and who fail to stop for stop signs and pedestrians using the pair of crosswalks near the school.
“People think this is a racetrack through here,” George Hall told PE. “It’s ridiculous.”
“I’m very angry,” Leslie Alejandres, whose two boys go to Liberty Elementary, said after the fatal accident. “It might have been me and my children.”
Alejandres went on to tell PE that she called Liberty’s principal just two weeks ago to complain about drivers who routinely fail to stop for the stop signs at the intersection. She said she also made a similar complaint about a month ago.
As the hours-long investigation continued, the husband of the woman killed in the collision was seen near the accident site being consoled by a police chaplain and others as he sat in shocked silence. Johnny Lopez / Lone Wolf News and Media photo
Although the driver was determined to be sober at the time of the accident, officials have not said if distracted driving or some other issue may have been factors in the fatal collision.
Riverside PD’s investigation is ongoing and anyone with information or who witnessed this collision and has not yet provided a statement is urged to immediately contact Riverside Police Traffic Detective R. McHugh at (951) 826-8720 or by email. Callers can remain anonymous.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 51, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and operates Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS), which act as stringer-news providers for other mainstream media organizations throughout the two regions they serve.
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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 30 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 18 grandchildren.
When drivers know they are in a school zone and do not pay attention to what is going on around them, they are asking for a problem to occur. A kid could be darting out between two parked cars. Making last minute decisions is not acceptable its safer to go around the block then to stop or turn suddenly. When I was going through drivers training my instructor made us tell him what we saw on the street. Such as person walking on sidewalk, Especially at intersections people waiting to cross the street and be aware they could step out onto the street. Not only do you need to watch traffic but those people riding bikes people on the street. So that you can take evasive action before approaching the potential hazard area. If need be change lanes.