Mom Backs Into 5 Children With SUV, 1 Child Dies

Mother has not been charged in the case.

The 8-year-old daughter of a Maryland woman who backed over five children in her driveway with an SUV has died, WUSA-TV reports.

The dead girl was identified by a family friend as Natalie Hernandez-Cruz, daughter of the driver, Maria Anna Cruz-Lopez.

Another child is in critical condition, and the three others have minor injuries, the Associated Press reports. The children ranged in age from 11 years to 18 months.

An unidentified friend tells WUSA that Cruz-Lopez was backing the Ford Expedition into the driveway of her home in Lewisdale, Md., Thursday evening when the SUV "suddenly accelerated."

Police say the mother did not see the five children in the driveway and hit the gas pedal instead of the brake before hitting kids.

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Police say the mother has not been charged and alcohol and drugs aren't a factor, the AP reports.

WNEW reports that after striking the children, the SUV continued down the driveway before becoming lodged in the garage. WNEW also has posted a photograph of the driveway on its website.