Child driving car hits, critically injures woman walking dog in Oakland; driver, child passenger also hurt

By Carlos E. Castañeda

A child under 10 years old was behind the wheel of a car in Oakland on Thursday when it crashed and hit a woman walking her dog, police said. 

The incident happened at about 9:30 a.m. in the area of 35th and Mangels avenues in the Barlett neighborhood of East Oakland. The Oakland Police Department said officers who responded to a report of a crash involving a pedestrian arrive to find a woman in her 30s who had been hit by a sedan. Medics took her to a hospital in critical condition, police said.

There were two children in the vehicle, the driver and a passenger who was also under 10 years old, police said. Both children were injured and taken to a hospital in stable condition, police said.

The investigation determined that the white Toyota Camry was heading northbound on 35th Avenue when it struck a vehicle heading south 35th Avenue and then lost control, hitting the pedestrian who was walking her dog and in a crosswalk at 35th and Mangels Avenue. The car came to a halt after jumping a curb and crashing into a fence of a home on the corner, narrowly missing a fire hydrant.

The dog was later found unharmed in the area, according to the East Bay Times.

Cellphone video from a bystander showed individuals applying chest compressions to the injured woman and at to one of the children before police officers and medics arrived.

“They were doing CPR the whole time,” said witness Anthony Hudson. “It was tragic and I’m still a little shook by it.”

“Once she got hit, on impact, that’s when she lost consciousness, you know what I mean?” said witness Lavelle Shah-Marquis. “So you did not hear her scream, you didn’t hear none of the kids make noises. The only sound you hear was the crash.”

Witnesses said two Good Samaritans kept the woman alive until medics arrived. 

“The airbag actually hit the children, hit them so hard, put them in the back seat of the vehicle,” said Shah-Marquis. 

Police said it was unknown if alcohol or drugs were a factor in this collision. The parents of the two children were contacted and were cooperating with the investigation, police said.

“These parents need to be held responsible, that was the first thing I thought in my head,” said Shah-Marquis. “Because you have someone here that literally could possibly lose their life on account of being irresponsible.”   

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact the Police Department’s traffic unit at 510-777-8570. Those with videos or photos that could help investigators were asked to send them to [email protected].