Teen driver hits woman in wheelchair in Southwest Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police are looking into a crash in southwest Fresno involving a teen driver who hit a woman in a wheelchair Monday afternoon.

It happened in the area of Amador and Plumas Avenues, just a few blocks away from Columbia Elementary School. Originally the call came into Fresno Police as a car into a tree, but when officers arrived on scene they found a woman with very serious injuries.

Police say the 15-year-old driver of the Suzuki SUV hit the woman in a wheelchair, then left the roadway and crashed into the tree. Police say the woman was rushed to Community Regional Medical Center with traumatic injuries, but was conscious and talking to emergency workers.

"We don't know which way the car was going right now or where the female was if she was on the sidewalk or if she was out in the street," Lt. Joe Gomez of the Fresno Police Department said. "But the wheelchair behind me, she was in that wheelchair."

The 15-year-old boy was not under the influence when he struck this woman in a wheelchair. The woman is currently at the hospital being treated for her injuries.