Police say 3-year-old was driving van that crashed into Garden City elementary school
Garden City police say a 3-year-old child was behind the wheel of a minivan that crashed into a local elementary school Tuesday afternoon.
The crash happened after a mom left two young children alone in her van while she picked up others from class at Gertrude Walker School, 805 W. Fair St. in Garden City, police say.
After the mother parked the Chrysler Town & Country and walked toward the school, the 3-year-old child somehow managed to wiggle out of their safety seat, crawl into the driver’s side and press the accelerator “all the way down,” Garden City police said in a news release.
The van took off and drove into a parked Honda Civic, pushing it onto a sidewalk and up into the grass, the police said.
The van then continued on and slammed into the school building on one corner, police said.
Both the van and the car received “extensive damage,” police said, and had to be towed away from the scene. Damage to the building is estimated at more than $5,000, according to the release.
Fortunately, though, no one was hurt.
The crash was reported at 3:55 p.m.
This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 5:37 PM.
