Car Hits Baby, Grandmother, 2 Small Boys

A grandmother and three children, including an infant in a stroller, were seriously injured Friday when a car hit them as they crossed a busy Chatsworth street on the way to school, Los Angeles police said.

The children, all small boys, were taken by helicopter from the accident scene on Devonshire Street at Oklahoma Avenue to Childrens Hospital in Hollywood.

Eder Morales, 4, was in critical condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit with multiple injuries, officials said. Jose Hernandez, 6, was in serious condition, and Carlos Guzman, 11 months old, was in fair condition.

Jose’s grandmother, Julia Jaco, 50, was taken by ambulance to Northridge Hospital Medical Center after the 7:45 a.m. accident. She was in serious condition with a broken leg and pelvis and internal injuries. Officials said Karina Monge, 6, a fourth child who crossed the street with Jaco was not struck by the car, but was taken to the hospital and released.

All of the victims are from Chatsworth. Police said Jaco and the children were walking north across Devonshire, with Carlos in a baby carriage, when they walked in front of a westbound car driven by Karon Bourgoin, 30, of Simi Valley.

“They were all holding hands, and the grandmother was pushing the baby carriage,” Officer Lee Holloman said. “They tried to cross the street together. The driver of the car said she just didn’t see them until it was too late. There was no evidence of speed being involved. She was just momentarily distracted and didn’t see them.”

Holloman said Bourgoin’s 6-year-old son, Christopher, was riding with her in the car. Neither was injured, but both were treated at the scene for shock, he said. An investigation of the accident is continuing.

Holloman said Jaco was caring for her grandson and the other children and was apparently walking them to a nearby school when the accident occurred.

The impact of the collision sent the baby carriage carrying Carlos sliding to the curb. It was unclear whether the baby was thrown out of the carriage, but he suffered only a cut on his head, officials said.