Placentia: Prius Struck Four Children Near a School

At approximately 2:30 p.m. yesterday, a Prius struck four children near a Placentia school. The accident was triggered when a Toyota Sienna traveling south on Valencia Avenue turned left in front of a northbound Prius, the impact sending the Prius onto the sidewalk where the children were standing, striking three of them and pinning the fourth under the vehicle. Firefighters released the 12-year-old boy from under the car with airbags; he was taken to UCI Medical Center in critical condition. Another 12-year-old also sustained serious injuries and was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, as was the driver of the Prius. A 7-year-old was taken to Placentia-Linda Hospital in Placentia, and an 11-year-old left with his parents. The intersection of Valencia Avenue and Golden Avenue was closed until 6 p.m. while police conducted an investigation of the accident, explains an Orange County injury lawyer. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s latest accident statistics indicate that a total of 33,808 people died and 2,217,000 were injured in traffic accidents in 2009. 4,092 of the fatalities and 59,000 of the injuries were attributed to accidents involving pedestrians. Moreover, the 14-and-younger age group accounted for 244 of the fatalities and 13,000 of the injuries. The majority of individuals in this age group killed or injured were males. 

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the children struck and injured by the Prius yesterday near the Placentia school a full recovery. 

The Orange County Register originally reported this accident. 

Additional resources, including links to pedestrian advocacy groups and articles on pedestrian rights, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these resources, or to discuss a specific legal matter with an Orange County injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.