3 Girls Are Injured in Hit-and-Run

A teenage motorist struck three girls in a motel parking lot Saturday afternoon and then sped away, leaving a 10-year-old critically injured, authorities said.

The driver, believed to be a girl about 15, was being sought Saturday night. California Highway Patrol officers recovered the car a few blocks from the motel, Officer Frank Sansone said.

The 10-year-old was listed in critical but stable condition at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, with broken ribs, legs and collarbone, hospital spokeswoman Roberta Nichols said.

Another girl, 14, was hospitalized with broken ankles, and the third girl, 8, was hospitalized with minor injuries, police said.

The accident occurred shortly before 5 p.m. at Willows Motor Lodge, in the 8300 block of Glenoaks Boulevard.

Several witnesses said the driver, who was carrying two male passengers, swerved to avoid a parked truck as she exited a parking space. She clipped the truck and veered toward the girls, who were sitting on a nearby curb, drinking sodas, said Lt. Ron Tingle of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

“It sounds like it was an accident,” Tingle said. “Maybe the driver, possibly because of her age, just panicked. We’re not looking at it as an intentional act at this time. It’s still a hit-and-run felony though.”

It was not clear whether the victims were related, but police said two of the children might be sisters.

“It happened so quickly. The next thing I knew, they were flying everywhere and one was on the street,” said Jermyn Frias, 12, a motel guest.

About half an hour later, CHP officers found the car, a Ford Crown Victoria, near Sunland Boulevard and Penrose Street and detained a young man, believed to be one of the passengers, for questioning. Officers also want to talk to the other passenger.