LAWNDALE : Car Knocked Into Gear by Boy, 2, Injures 2 Toddlers

An idling car knocked into gear by a 2-year-old boy ran into two toddler sisters in Lawndale on Friday and pinned them against a garage door, critically injuring one girl.

Two-year-old Esmeralda Figueroa, who suffered a head injury in the 11 a.m. accident in the 16500 block of Prairie Avenue, was taken to Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, where she was in critical condition, sheriff’s spokeswoman Irma Becerra said.

Four-year-old Dora Figueroa was hospitalized in stable condition, Becerra said.

The girls’ uncle started the car and left it idling in the driveway while he went into the house, Becerra said.

Several children were playing nearby, and the boy got behind the steering wheel and put the car in gear and it rolled into the girls, pinning them against the garage door, Becerra said.