Boy Critically Hurt When Car Strikes Him in Driveway

A 1 1/2-year-old boy was in critical condition Saturday after being hit by a car while playing in a neighbor’s driveway.

The neighbor was apparently backing away from the garage on Regalo Drive about 9:30 a.m. when Matthew Zona was struck, said Lt. Rex Hatch of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Hatch said the driver apparently was not aware that the toddler had been hit and continued away from the home without stopping. The child suffered head injuries and was taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, where he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit.

A next-door neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said authorities inspected her daughter’s car Saturday morning when the daughter arrived at work in Dana Point.

“We don’t know how the baby got hit,” the neighbor said. “We heard that the baby walked back to the house crying after the accident. No one knows what happened.”

Hatch said no charges had been filed in the case and that the investigation is continuing.