By Brian C. Louwers
C & G Staff Writer

WARREN — Police said a driving accident resulted in serious injuries for a 7-year-old Warren boy on June 30, when a vehicle driven by his aunt left a parking lot and ran him down at Westview Elementary, on Warner near Stephens, west of Ryan.

According to Warren Police Detective Randall Ricotta, the 30-year-old woman, also a Warren resident, received her temporary instruction permit earlier in the day, just hours before the Hyundi Santa Fe crossover SUV she was driving accelerated over a lip that separated the parking lot from the nearby sidewalk and adjacent grass at about 4:30 p.m.

“Apparently she just received her learner’s permit yesterday. She was driving about Westview Elementary’s parking lot with her husband,” Ricotta said. “Several family members were out there and she was pulling into a parking space up against the elevated sidewalk. The young nephew came in front of her vehicle waiving his hands, at which point she went to hit the break and hit the accelerator.”

Ricotta said the car jumped a 6-inch lip onto the sidewalk and struck the boy, who was carried on the hood of the car onto the adjacent lawn and eventually run over.

“”He ended up underneath the vehicle,” Ricotta said. “He’s in serious condition the last I heard, with broken ribs and a possible broken pelvis.”

No alcohol or drug use was suspected.

Ricotta said the woman had lawfully been operating the vehicle with her husband, a licensed driver, in accordance with established guidelines for Michigan drivers with temporary instruction permits.

“It appears quite frankly to be an accident,”  Ricotta added.

The boy was originally transported from the scene to St. John Macomb Hospital. He was later transferred to Royal Oak’s Beaumont Hospital, where he remained at press time.

Ricotta said it was unlikely that criminal charges would be filed.

You can reach Staff Writer Brian C. Louwers at brianlouwers@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1089.