Seven children, ranging from two to nine years old, were transported to Children’s Hospital.
BLADENSBURG, Md. — A hit-and-run at a children’s birthday in Maryland on Saturday left 11 people — including seven children — injured, according to the Bladensburg Police Department.
The vehicle hit several people who were gathered in front of a home for a birthday party in the 4100 block of 56th Avenue at around 10:14 p.m.
Video posted by the X account Potomac Press DC shows police and firefighters gathered in the area early Sunday morning. A tent apparently that had apparently been used in the birthday celebrations was torn open and partially collapsed in front of a house.
Jocelyn Route, a former Prince George’s County school board member and Bladensburg councilmember who lives down the street, could hear the crash from her bedroom.
“I was awakened by big booms … There were ambulances all around, there was a car that was actually in the yard, there was screaming,” Route told WUSA9’s Jacquelyn Quynh. “By the time I got down here, the emergency personnel were trying to resuscitate a woman who was pinned underneath a car.”
Route said she could see five children who looked like they were in “critical condition” and another three children who were able to walk to the ambulance. The former county official said neighbors told her that a car had been driving erratically through the neighborhood before the crash.
“My neighbor said they tried to make a U-turn but ended up crashing into the tent,” Route said, standing near what looked like tire marks on the sidewalk. “This is horrible I have five children of my own and this is so scary for me.”
The driver of the vehicle fled the scene on foot after the crash, according to a statement from Bladensburg Police. A total of 11 people were taken to the hospital with injuries. Seven children, ranging from two to nine years old, were taken to Children’s Hospital.
A young girl and an infant were taken to the hospital in what the Prince George’s County Fire Department described as “critical condition.” The other nine people had injuries emergency crews described as, “serious but not life threatening.”
The identity of the driver and the cause of the collision was still under investigation, as of Sunday morning. Prince George’s County Police Department were helping Bladensburg P.D. on the scene, closing Annapolis Road from 57th Avenue to Landover Road.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Bladensburg Police Department at 301-864-6080.
Route pleaded for community members to help find the person behind the violent crash.
“You did harm to members of my community and it’s not O.K. — turn yourself in,” Route said. “And to those who may be harboring him, it’s not O.K. to harbor him and please turn him in.”