A late-morning walk through a Sacramento apartment parking lot turned into a nightmare Monday when a 15-month-old toddler was run over and rushed to UC Davis Medical Center, authorities said.
The incident happened in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Tuolumne Drive, just off La Riviera Drive. Deputies with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office arrived to find the child unresponsive and immediately began CPR before paramedics took over and transported the toddler to the hospital. The child's father was with the toddler at the time, and investigators say the driver apparently did not see the child in the lot.
The California Highway Patrol, which is handling the investigation, told CBS Sacramento that the toddler was struck in the complex's parking area and that deputies initiated life-saving measures at the scene. As of now, officials have not released any update on the toddler's condition. Sacramento-area officers remained at the complex into the afternoon, collecting evidence and working to piece together exactly how the crash happened.
Why Toddlers Are So Hard to See in Parking Lots
Federal safety data has long warned that very young children face outsized danger in driveways and parking areas, where drivers may not realize a toddler has moved into their path until it is far too late.
A backover study by the NHTSA found that children under 5 face elevated risk in these kinds of incidents because their small size often puts them below a driver's normal line of sight. A literature review cited by the National Institutes of Health similarly notes that toddlers are frequently injured in driveways and similar low-speed settings, where a simple blind spot can have devastating consequences.
Safety experts often point to basic habits that can cut that risk: holding a young child's hand in parking lots, walking all the way around a vehicle before backing up, and using rear-visibility cameras or sensors when available.
Other Parking Lot Scares Around the Central Valley
The Sacramento case is not the only recent reminder that a quiet parking lot can turn dangerous in seconds. In January, a toddler in Clovis was reportedly run over in a Trader Joe's parking lot and hospitalized, according to The Fresno Bee. That Central Valley incident, like Monday's crash in Sacramento, underscores how a brief lapse in visibility or supervision around vehicles can become life-threatening for very young children.
CHP investigators and Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies are continuing to examine the circumstances of Monday's crash. Authorities have not released the driver's identity or additional information on the toddler's condition. This story will be updated if officials provide new details.
