An SUV crashed into a Chicago daycare Friday, injuring three people including one toddler, according to multiple outlets.
The crash occurred at Raekwon’s Scholastic Academy Daycare in the West Chatham neighborhood, CBS Chicago reported. It appeared a parent was dropping off their child when they accidentally pressed the accelerator and drove into the daycare, the center’s owner, Raekwon Neighbors, told the outlet.
Officials identified the driver as a 34-year-old man who was later taken to the University of Chicago Hospital for minor injuries according to NBC Chicago. A four-year-old passenger was brought to a local children’s hospital for evaluation and a 39-year-old woman, who was reportedly in the building at the time of the crash, was taken to St. Bernard Hospital. No children inside of the daycare were injured, according to CBS.
Surveillance video shared by CBS Chicago shows the vehicle slowly driving through the empty parking lot and pulling into a parking space, before it accelerates suddenly and disappears into the side of building. (Unlicensed Teen Driver Hits School Bus Head On, 4 Seriously Injured)
#BREAKING: At least 3 people have been injured, including a child, after a car slammed into a Chicago daycare, according to police. @livenowfox pic.twitter.com/yNoslYZpPN
— Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowTV) April 28, 2023
“I’m glad just no kids got hurt, because those are my babies,” Neighbors told CBS. “I know every last kid in here, their family. I love them. They’re like they’re my own kids.”
“It’s some classrooms right in the front. That’s why it’s unbelievable, and it’s a blessing that no kids got hurt,” mother Trenisha Jackson said, according to the outlet.
“We’re going to get everything fixed … and probably get some barriers up front … just in case something like that happens again,” neighbors told the Chicago Sun-Times. “You can never guess that somebody is going to accidentally hit the accelerator.”