Wellesley boy hit by car at school

Officials say injuries ‘significant’

An 8-year-old boy suffered “significant injuries” yesterday when he was struck by an SUV in the parking lot of a Wellesley elementary school, police said.

Wellesley cops responded to a 911 call at 4:31 p.m. reporting a child struck by a motor vehicle in the driveway of Schofield Elementary School off Cedar Street, according to Lt. Marie Cleary, a police spokeswoman.

A woman driving a black Acura SUV had gone through the parking circle at the end of the driveway and circled back around in the correct direction when she couldn’t find a parking spot, Cleary said. The boy, who was with an adult caretaker, had just left a vehicle that was parked on the north side of the parking lot and was crossing over a grassy island to get to a nearby sidewalk when he was struck, Cleary said.

The woman driving the Acura immediately stopped the vehicle and began rendering medical aid to the boy, who was later transported by helicopter to a Boston-area hospital with “significant injuries,” Cleary said. His condition was not released by police last night.

“The parents are aware that the accident has occurred and are with the child at the hospital,” Cleary said.

The Acura driver was also taken to a hospital for evaluation, she said.

Detectives and accident reconstruction specialists remained at the scene for several hours “to try to determine the chain of events and exactly what happened,” Cleary said. “But at this point it does look like it’s just a tragic accident ... From what we’re hearing, the vehicle was operating at a very low speed.”

The boy is not a student at the school, she said.

“All of the individuals involved in the crash were at the Schofield School for non-school related events,” Cleary said, noting that there is a playground and athletic fields there, “so it’s not uncommon for lots of people to be here, especially on such a nice day.”

A 42-year old mother, her husband and their 9-yearold daughter — a third grader at the school — came to the scene last night to try to find out more about what happened, only to find it cordoned off by police.

“It’s very shocking news,” said the mother, who declined to give her name. “We were telling her (their daughter) she needs to be very careful. We hope the boy will be all right.”