8-year-old boy dies, 9-year-old girl injured after being hit by vehicle on Sacramento freeway
An 8-year-old boy died and a 9-year-old girl suffered major injuries Sunday after a vehicle struck the children, who had gotten out of a disabled vehicle to wait in a center median along Highway 50 in Sacramento.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m. Sunday, the California Highway Patrol received a report of a black Toyota — with its occupants standing outside the vehicle — that was blocking the far left westbound lane of Highway 50, just east of 65th Street.
Before CHP officers arrived, a 2002 Ford vehicle struck the people standing outside the Toyota, the CHP South Sacramento office announced Tuesday in a news release.
The children who were struck by the Ford were both from Rancho Cordova, the CHP said. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, and the girl was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. The CHP said the driver of the Toyota and the driver of the Ford were not injured.
CHP investigators have determined the Toyota had become disabled and was blocking the fast westbound lane, before the children got out of the vehicle to wait in a center median.
The center median, at this location, is bordered by concrete K-rails with an opening to allow access for construction workers. The CHP said there was no construction work being done there at the time of the fatal crash.
A 30-year-old San Francisco man was driving the Ford and heading west on Highway 50 in the fast lane at unknown speed approaching the Toyota, the CHP said.
The Ford driver tried to slow down and turned left to avoid hitting the Toyota, the CHP said. The Ford then entered the center median through the opening in the concrete K-rails and hit the children.
The weather conditions at the time were dry and clear. The CHP said the investigation into Sunday’s fatal crash was ongoing.
