4-year-old child struck by vehicle on Ave. A

A 4-year-old child was flown to a Phoenix-area hospital with non-life threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle Wednesday evening.

Sgt. Lori Franklin, a spokesperson for the Yuma Police Department, reported that the incident happened at approximately 8:19 p.m, in the 2100 block of Avenue A.

However, Franklin said officers were initially dispatched to a residence in the 2100 block of South 11th Avenue in reference to a child who had walked away from his home and was missing.

One of the officers who was responding to the area spotted a group of people standing along Avenue A and pulled over to ask them if they had seen the child.

While talking with them, one of the members of the group told the officer the child was on the road and pointed back in the opposite direction.

As the officer was turning around his patrol car, the child was struck by a Ford Expedition driven by a 67-year-old male.

“The officer did not see the accident happen, he just saw the child lying in the roadway afterwards,” Franklin said.

The officer rendered immediate aid to the child.

The driver of the Ford Expedition, who did not suffer any injuries, did not stop and was pulled over by officers a short time later.

“We don’t believe he was fleeing the scene,” Franklin said. “The Expedition is a big vehicle and we think that he didn’t know he had struck the child.”

This case is still under investigation. The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to call them at 928-373-4700 or 78-Crime at 928-782-7463 to remain anonymous.