19 children, 1 employee injured after SUV crashes into Northern California preschool
Authorities say 19 children and an employee were injured after a vehicle crashed into a preschool Thursday afternoon in the small town of Anderson in Shasta County.
The vehicle crashed about 2:30 p.m. into Great Adventures Christian Preschool and Daycare at 2220 Balls Ferry Road, just west of Interstate 5, several miles south of Redding and about 150 miles north of Sacramento.
The Anderson Police Department said officers arrived to find a Suzuki SUV fully inside the front area of the facility.
Police said 14 children were taken by ambulance to hospitals with “for varying level of injures, with the majority of those transported being for precautionary reasons.” The room had 19 children and two staff members inside at the time of the crash, police said.
The Redding Record Searchlight reported that one of the injured children had been trapped underneath the small sport utility vehicle that crashed through one of the building’s exterior walls into the main area of the preschool. One of the preschool employees also was injured in the crash and hospitalized. The Record Searchlight said two of the children were taken to UC Davis Medical Center’s pediatric intensive care unit.
Police spoke with the female driver of the vehicle, who was determined to not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. “The driver was cooperative and released after providing a statement,” police said.
Anderson police said the investigation into the crash was ongoing.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 5:49 PM.
