A driver was arrested after she allegedly ran down two children walking to school in New Jersey Monday morning and before fleeing the scene, according to police.
The two kids were hit at 7:48 a.m in front of Our Lady of Victories School in Sayreville, according to police. A five-year-old boy sustained head injuries and a broken leg, while his 8-year-old brother suffered abrasions, police said.
The boys were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, according to Capt. Glenn Skarzynski. They are expected to survive.
The driver, 36-year-old Margaret Cheheli, allegedly drove off after hitting the children but was arrested a short time later, according to police.
Skarzynski praised a mother who "whipped out her cell phone" to get a picture of fleeing car and a father who got a good look at the driver and identified her after her apprehension.
Authorities are also looking into whether the driver was distracted.
"Phones, radios, there's a lot of distractions, so one of the things that will have to be looked at is whether this driver had her on the verge of attention on the road," said Sayreville assemblyman John Wisniewski.
Local
Some children attending the school were shaken after seeing the chaos.
"She's pretty emotional now, she's pretty scared," parent Milo Pawelczyk said of his 5-year-old daughter Kayla.
"As soon as we pulled up, she saw the cop car and started crying and I had to tell her it would be OK," he said.
"It was very hectic, lots of police and worried parents," said parent Dianna Ruiz.
Additional police arrived around dismissal time Monday to reinforce the crossing guard in front of the school. Police said it's not normally a dangerous crossing, and even parents backed up that assessment.
"Most people will stop, but some drivers, if they're in a hurry, they don't stop," said parent Rob Sekarak.
Police say they play a sort of whack-a-mole game with speeders as they look for them: put enforcement in one place, and speeders pop up elsewhere in town.
Cheheli faces several counts including aggravated assault, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash involving a serious injury, endangerment and evidence tampering. Authorities say Cheheli allegedly threw here keys after stopping the car.
Attorney information for the woman wasn't immediately available.
