Woman Driver Blinded by Sun Hits 3 Young Girls on Crosswalk

Screenshot/KTLA

While en route to Betty Plasencia Elementary School this morning, three young girls were struck by a car. The girls, ages 5, 10 and 16, are sisters and were crossing the street on a marked crosswalk in the 1400 block of West Temple Street in Echo Park. The children were rushed to the hospital just after 8am by paramedics.

The driver, a woman who had just dropped off her own children at the nearby elementary school, was blinded by the sun when she accidentally hit the girls. She remained at the scene of the mishap.

The victims' injuries include scrapes, bruises and one broken arm. KTLA's Elizabeth Espinosa spoke to the victims' mom, who said her daughters "sustained serious injuries." The 5-year-old endured the most severe harm and underwent surgery earlier today "for injuries to her face, her nose and her mouth."

Horrified witnesses say they have previously voiced complaints about the intersection and have repeatedly asked the city for a stop light.

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By Lauren Lloyd in News on September 27, 2011 4:00 PM

Comments [rss]

jennix

... to get a pedestrian to smash your windshield "because you couldn't see" is negligent. You have to be driving along at a good clip to get a person to pop up onto the hood like that... to do so into the blinding sun is not an "accident".

marcscime

"Horrified witnesses say they have previously voiced complaints about the intersection and have repeatedly asked the city for a stop light."

Good luck with that, that location is in Ed Reyes's district.

Paul

If you look at other LAist articles, if it is not someone you would recognize by name - it usually details gender man, woman, mom, dad, aunt, or uncle. Unless it's a child, then it goes with the age.

So why don't you "people" relax.