Maryland Mother In SUV Backs Over 5 Children, 1 Dies In Tragic Accident In Lewisdale Section Of Hyattsville

1 Child Dies After Mother In SUV Backs Over 5 Kids

WASHINGTON -- A mother driving an SUV in a Maryland suburb just outside the nation's capital backed over five children Thursday night in what police have described as a tragic accident.

One of the children rushed from the scene in the Lewisdale section of Hyattsville to Children's Hospital in the District of Columbia, an eight-year old, has died, according to police in Prince George's County.

It does not appear that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the incident, Patch reports:

According to Prince George's County Spokeswoman Julie Parker, two county police officers were called to a house on the 2200 block of Hannon Street around 8 p.m. Thursday night for landlord-tenant dispute. Maria Anna Cruz Lopez, 33, was being evicted from her home there with her children.

The officers left the home just after 8:20 p.m., but 20 minutes later they were called back to the scene when a 911 call dispatcher said five children were struck by an SUV, Parker said. Officers immediately started to resuscitate Natalie Hernandez Cruz, 8, who was the most critically injured.

The other children, WJLA-TV/ABC7 reports, do not have life-threatening injuries.

Police believe that the mother in the SUV may have accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake when she was backing out of the driveway where the five children were playing.

More more details in this story, follow Hyattsville Patch's coverage.

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