Car hits girl in YC neighborhood

A 9-year-old girl was taken to a Roseville hospital Thursday after a car hit her on a busy neighborhood street in Yuba City.

Police released few details after the accident, and investigators were trying Thursday night to piece together what happened.

“We haven't made any determination yet of fault,” said Sgt. Lincoln Eden.

Nearby residents at Andrew Drive and Railroad Avenue frantically made 911 calls to police dispatchers shortly after 3 p.m.

Ericka Lee, 27, provides in-home care at an apartment along that block and heard the crash from inside.

“I heard tires screeching, something go ‘thud' and someone screaming ‘Oh my God!'” she said from the sidewalk, where dozens of people had gathered to watch rescue workers and investigators.

Lee said she ran outside, called the police from her cell phone and saw the girl's mother tending to her in the street. Lee consoled the mother's other two children until family came and picked them up, she said.

Paramedics flew the girl by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Eden said. She was conscious and responsive, he said, but he was not sure how serious her injuries were.

Pointed north on the side of Railroad Avenue was a silver Honda Civic and two small, black tennis shoes, each in a different end of the intersection. Orange spray paint dotted the pavement.

Eden did not release the victim's name, and he didn't have the adult female driver's name. Her car was inspected and towed, standard procedure in such accidents, he said.

Investigators weren't sure if the girl was crossing the street or standing there when she was hit, Eden said. A couple of witnesses told the Appeal-Democrat they saw a school bus dropping off children minutes before the accident.

Lee said neighbors frequently complain about dangerous driving on that road, as daily commuters look for shortcuts through town. Thursday's episode was particularly painful, she said, because it reminded her of the time her brother was hit by a car and killed in a crosswalk years ago.

“We've all said it's a matter of time until someone will get seriously hurt,” she said.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Daniel Thigpen can be reached at 749-4713. You may e-mail him at dthigpen@appeal-democrat.com.