OXNARD : Girl, 2, Hospitalized After Being Hit by Car

A 2-year-old Oxnard girl who dashed into the street after a ball Saturday afternoon was struck by a car and rushed to the hospital with head injuries, police said.

Kimberly Elmore was being treated in the intensive care unit at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, but the hospital declined to release the girl’s condition late Saturday afternoon. Guadalupe Paniagua, 18, of Oxnard was driving west on Guava Street in Oxnard at about 2:45 p.m. when the girl ran into the street, police said. Paniagua was unable to stop his car and hit the girl, according to police reports.

Residents said the girl had been playing ball on the sidewalk with other neighborhood children. “It was one of those freak accidents,” said neighbor Laura Carreon, 29. “The guy who hit her was driving slow. There were no skid marks.”

Police confirmed Paniagua was driving at the speed limit, which is 25 m.p.h.

Neighbor Juanita Ramirez said Paniagua rushed into her house to call 911.

“The guy was so shaken up one of my children had to make the call,” she said.