A hit-and-run driver plowed into a 27-year-old woman pulling children in a wagon in a crosswalk on Thursday night in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, leaving one child in critical condition.
In a news conference held on Friday afternoon, Sergeant Bryan Dean with Eden Prairie police said it happened at about 8:20 p.m. on Mitchell Road at Chestnut Drive.
The woman was walking with two children and pulling a wagon with two other children — all ages 4 and younger — when a white vehicle traveling north on Mitchell Road struck her and the wagon and then drove off.
The woman and one of the children in the wagon suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. They were treated and released from Hennepin Healthcare. However, the other child in the wagon “suffered critical injuries” and is still hospitalized.
“The children on foot were not physically injured, but are understandably traumatized by the incident,” Dean said.
He said police found plastic from the driver’s side mirror of the suspect’s white vehicle at the scene, but the style, make and model are unknown at this time.
“We are also speaking directly to the person responsible or anyone who may know who they are,” Dean said. “Someone out there knows who did this. We urge you to help us deliver the justice this family deserves. Please do the right thing and come forward.”
Dean is asking for anyone who has information on this crime, or may have captured footage via home surveillance or dash cameras, to call 952-949-6200. A monetary reward is being offered through the city’s crime fund for tips leading to an arrest and conviction.
“This type of reckless and tragic act will not go unanswered,” Dean said.
The Minnesota State Patrol and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office are assisting in the investigation.
“Everybody is going fast to get on the highway right down the road, a mile down the road,” Eden Prairie resident TJ Mlazgar said.
Mlazgar lives near the intersection and says speed has been an issue at this busy crosswalk.
“There is a bright green sign that says ‘Pedestrian crossing’ that is fixed into the ground, and there is one in the middle of the road, and nobody stops for it,” he said.
