A 2-year-old girl was struck by a car while walking through a crosswalk with her mother in Madera Sunday evening, suffering only minor injuries despite the frightening scene at the intersection of North Lake Street and East Riverside Drive. The crash happened just before 7 p.m., and the toddler was alert and responsive as she was taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
According to ABC30 Fresno, Madera police said the mother was walking with her daughter in the crosswalk when the child was hit by the car. The driver stayed at the scene and has been cooperating with investigators, the station reports. Investigators do not suspect criminal negligence, including the use of drugs or alcohol, as a factor in the crash, per the same report.
The girl was taken to Valley Children's Hospital for further evaluation, a decision consistent with the facility's role as the only designated pediatric trauma center in Central California, according to Valley Children's Healthcare.
A Crosswalk Already Flagged for Safety Concerns
The intersection where the toddler was hit sits along a stretch of roadway that traffic safety researchers have scrutinized before. A 2021 joint assessment by UC Berkeley SafeTREC and California Walks identified Riverside Drive and Lake Street among Madera's primary corridors with elevated pedestrian crash histories, noting that motorists frequently exceed posted speed limits along Lake Street.
Under California law, drivers are required to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in marked or unmarked crosswalks and to exercise due care by slowing down or taking other action to protect them, per California Vehicle Code Section 21950 as outlined by Justia Law. The same statute also places a duty of care on pedestrians, prohibiting them from stepping off a curb into the immediate path of a vehicle that poses an immediate hazard, according to the Shouse Law Group.
Madera's Broader Push on Pedestrian Safety
Madera has been working to address child pedestrian safety more broadly. The city's Citywide Safe Routes to School Project is set to install high-visibility crosswalks, curb extensions, rectangular rapid flashing beacons, and speed feedback signs across multiple elementary school zones.
Separately, California Office of Traffic Safety benchmarking data for 2022 recorded 17 pedestrian injuries and fatalities in Madera, ranking the city 40th out of 104 benchmarked California cities of similar population size. The same agency has also awarded grants to the Madera Police Department in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to fund targeted traffic enforcement and pedestrian safety education campaigns.
A newer state law may also shape how intersections like this one are designed going forward. Assembly Bill 413, known as the Daylighting Law and in effect since 2025, generally prohibits drivers from parking or stopping within 20 feet of the approach side of any marked or unmarked crosswalk, except that the restriction is 15 feet where a curb extension is present; local ordinances may provide an exception for commercial vehicles, according to CaseyGerry Trial Lawyers.
Sunday's crash adds to a string of recent traffic incidents in Madera County, including a fatal hit-and-run on Highway 99 reported the day before.
