JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 13-year-old girl was questioned at school Monday following a hit-and-run crash in which three children were hurt in Arlington, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
An investigator at the scene initially said the teen's mother's boyfriend was with the girl while she was driving. But witnesses told police the man was driving. Police are now trying to determine who was behind the wheel.
They said the driver lost control, drove onto a sidewalk on Lone Star Road and hit four children, three of which were hospitalized with minor injuries. The fourth was not hurt.
Marsha Oliver, communications director for Duval County schools, said the four children, who are in sixth and seventh grades, were hit from behind on the sidewalk in front of Arlington Middle School Monday just after 9 a.m.
Oliver said the vehicle that hit the children initially stopped at the scene, then drove off.
Police said the girl's mother's boyfriend dropped her off at a park, and she walked to school and turned herself in. Officers said Monday afternoon they were still looking for the man and a white SUV involved in the crash.
The teen could be charged with four counts of felony hit-and-run. Her mother was at the school as the girl was being questioned.
For parents of students in the area, what happened is not a surprise. They believe it's always been dangerous.
"There is no traffic light. Cars are just going to keep going," parent Ranette Wallace said. "They don't stop. That's what they do when they come from this way. They don't stop. They don't even slow down. They just keep going."