Car Hits Crowded Schoolyard

A car driven by a man screaming that he could not stop plowed into a crowd of elementary school children and parents gathered on a playground for an awards ceremony Friday morning, injuring 11 people, four of them children, officials said.

The driver, Lamont Prince, 22, was cited with four traffic violations and was being held for questioning, said police spokesman Edward Alonzo.

One witness, identified as Arthur Brown, told CBS station WBBM-TV that the car came from an alley and through a fence to get into the playground. He said he and his wife were almost hit by the car. Their son, who was participating in the ceremony, was unhurt.

Brown said he was among the people who lifted the car off a few of the children when the vehicle came to a stop.

"He was yelling out he couldn't stop," Killackey said.

He said police would give the driver toxicology tests to see if he had been drinking or taking drugs. Killackey said no charges had been filed but did not rule out the possibility.

Another witness said the car "knocked out the kids... and it kept on rolling...a man jumped out and ran."

Three of the children were seriously injured and taken to trauma centers, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Will Knight said.

The incident happened at the Robert Fulton school in the 53-hundred block on south Hermitage Street on the city's South Side.

"He was coming real fast," said witness Sandra Taylor. "It was like he wouldn't stop or he couldn't stop or wouldn't stop. I don't know which one. Everybody was trying to get out the way but he was coming too fast."

More than an hour after the incident, yellow and blue chairs were scattered on their sides across the playground.

Theresa Jett, the mother of two children at the school, said her second-grade son was taking part in the assembly.

Shaking and in tears, she said, "I just hope that the little boy that got run over ... God be with him."

Paul Vallas, head of the Chicago school system, said a crisis intervention team was on the scene offering counseling to students and parents.

There were conflicting reports from police and hospitals about how many people were injured and how many were children.

In addition to the 4-year-old boy in serious condition with a skull fracture and several cuts and bruises, a 4-year-old girl was in fair condition and was expected to be hospitalized overnight. Three other children were in good condition and a fourth was in fair condition.