19 Children Taken To Hospital After SUV Crashes Into Preschool Classroom

At least 19 children were injured after a speeding SUV rammed into a California preschool classroom on Thursday, authorities said.

The blue Suzuki SUV veered off-road and plowed through the wall of Great Adventures Christian Preschool in Anderson, at around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 3.

Photos released of the crash show the vehicle completely inside the main area of the building. The classroom seems mostly destroyed by the wrecked SUV.

According to the Anderson Sheriff’s Department, a total of 19 children and two adults were in the classroom at the time of the crash.

The sheriff’s department said that 14 of the children were taken by ambulance to hospitals along with one staff member.

Police say the children had varying levels of injuries but most were taken to hospitals for "precautionary reasons".

No fatalities have been reported or are expected, the authorities confirmed in the release.

Nine children were brought to the hospital as trauma patients because of the nature of the incident,
said Kenneth Luke, director for security and emergency management at Mercy Medical Center Redding.

Two children were taken to a pediatric intensive care unit at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, the Record Searchlight of Redding reported.

Five other children were taken to hospitals by parents, Police Chief Jon Poletski said. Three children were taken to St. Elizabeth hospital in Red Bluff, he said. All three were discharged from the emergency room.

The driver, a woman from Anderson, cooperated with authorities and didn’t appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, police said.

She was released after providing a statement. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Anderson police declared the crash a "Mass Casualty Incident" considering the potential number of injured people at the daycare.

Allison Hendrickson, media relations manager for Mercy parent Dignity Health, confirmed Friday the children were in stable condition when they were treated in the emergency rooms and they are expected to recover soon.