February 25, 2011 – A Summerville woman is facing multiple counts of assault and battery after she drove her car into a group of schoolchildren last Thursday. According to a report at the Charleston Post and Courier, the 34-year-old woman was arrested after the incident and held on $40,000 bond.
Officers say the woman was driving a Ford Taurus on Iris Street in Summerville when she approached a group of children walking on the side of the road near the intersection with Tulip Drive. The driver intentionally hit the children after they failed to move out of her way when she honked her horn. Police investigators note that there is no sidewalk on that section of Tulip Drive, so children often walk on the shoulder to get to Alston Middle School, where all of the victims are enrolled as students. The car hit 4 children who range in age from 12 to 14.
Most of the victims were not seriously injured and were treated at the scene, but one child was transported by ambulance to the hospital. The extent of this child’s injuries is currently unknown, but he or she was released from the hospital after receiving treatment. The identities of the victims have not been released. If found guilty on all 4 counts of assault and battery, the driver could face up to 10 years in jail for each charge. Police say the driver’s own children were in the car when the incident occurred.
