SUV crashes into Northern California preschool, injuring 14

Fourteen children were taken to hospitals after an SUV drove into a preschool in Anderson, California, on Thursday afternoon during school hours, authorities said.

Anderson police received a call at 2:26 p.m. that a Suzuki Vitara had crashed into the Great Adventures Christian preschool in the town of 11,000, about 10 miles south of Redding. At that time there were 19 children and two adults in the building.

Most of the 14 children treated in hospitals were taken there as a precaution, Anderson police said.

Nine were taken to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, which is a full-service trauma center, according to Dignity Health spokeswoman Allison Hendrickson. At 7:30 p.m., seven of these children, stable throughout their stay, were released. The other two were flown to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Her condition was unknown.

Three children were taken to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff and later discharged, Hendrickson said.

Information on the last two children involved was not available.

“Whereas in Anderson we have frequent traffic collisions since we’ve been around [Interstate 5], which was different than the usual incident,” Anderson Police Lt. Nathan Ramirez. “Fortunately there were no fatalities and I am surprised and grateful that there were no more serious injuries.”

Officers set up a mass gathering of victims and were assisted by other agencies including the California Highway Patrol, the Redding Police Department and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.

The driver of the vehicle is an Anderson resident who was investigated by police drug investigators shortly after the accident. It was determined that she was unaffected. The driver gave a statement to the police and was released.

The car was towed from the preschool just before 5 p.m., Ramirez said.