Modesto 4-year-old seriously injured after being struck by SUV near ice cream truck; search for driver

By Greta Serrin

Click here for updates on this story

    MODESTO, California (KCRA) -- A 4-year-old was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries after being struck by an SUV in Modesto on Saturday night, authorities said. Officers are now searching for the driver.

The hit-and-run happened around 9:40 p.m. on Donald Street, just east of Hancock Street, the California Highway Patrol said in a release.

The boy was suffering from serious injuries when emergency personnel arrived. He was taken to UC Davis Medical Center by helicopter, CHP said.

Family members of the boy who was hurt did not want to go on camera, but they told KCRA 3 that they expect him to survive.

Investigators believe a white Dodge Nitro SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed on westbound Donald Street. The child was standing near his caregiver at an ice cream truck stopped in the area when he was struck by the SUV, authorities said. The person then drove off.

Authorities said several other adults and children were also at the ice cream truck. Those witnesses said the SUV was going "well in excess of 30 miles per hour" in the residential area where the speed limit is 25 miles per hour, CHP told KCRA 3.

Neighbor Alejandro Saldate lives just down the street from where the crash happened. He shared home surveillance video with KCRA 3, showing what appears to be the same white SUV speeding down the street just seconds after the hit-and-run crash. As a father of two young kids, Saldate said he is still processing what happened.

"I just couldn't stop thinking about it," Saldate said. "It makes me really anxious and nervous, because what if that was my kid? I would be devastated."

Saldate said he often sees cars driving at a high rate of speed in his neighborhood, which he and others in the community find concerning.

"Sometimes you see cars speeding like they're on the freeway," Saldate said. "There's a lot of kids around here. You see kids here playing with their soccer balls and their bikes or whatnot. Just take the time to slow down."

Even ice cream truck operators are fed up. KCRA 3 spoke to Ranbi Singh with Singh Ice Cream, who was driving through the neighborhood on Sunday. Singh has "Watch For Children" signs and other warnings on his ice cream truck to ensure the safety of his customers. Singh told KCRA 3 he was not in the neighborhood Saturday night, because he only does business during the day to avoid the speeding cars.

"Sometimes the people go too fast," Singh said. "This is dangerous. I don't sell ice cream in the nighttime. When the sun goes down, I go home."

CHP shared the photo below of the SUV, which they say may or may not have front-end damage.

No other details were released by authorities.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.