Special-needs student hits 9 students with golf cart

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno police say two intermediate school students were seriously hurt Monday morning and eight others injured when a special-needs student got into a golf cart and hit the gas.

One student received a broken leg and another had back and neck injuries. The student behind the wheel was also hurt after he hit a tree.

Several students were wheeled out of Granite Ridge Intermediate on Monday after the very unusual golf cart accident.

"I'm assuming the 13-year-old is unfamiliar with driving. He pushed on the gas and once he hit one child, he may have accelerated more, and then he was finally stopped by the tree; that's what stopped him," said Lt. Joe Gomez of the Fresno Police Department.

The mentally-challenged student suffered minor injuries and was also taken to the hospital, along with nine other students. Officers say the 7th-grade driver had only traveled a short distance when the cart plowed into a crowd of teenagers.

Police say the students were changing classes when the student got into the cart. Investigators say it did not require a key to work.

"As far as why it was unattended, that'd probably be administratively with Clovis Unified," said Lt. Gomez. "Our investigator is going to be concerned with the accident itself and how that happened."

A district spokeswoman says the school immediately took action by notifying the parents of those students who were hurt. One parent rushed to campus so fast, they beat emergency crews.

Ten students, including the driver who crashed, were taken to four area hospitals and treated while school officials were taking a closer look at the golf cart.

"We also have removed that particular golf cart, it's on the way to our maintenance facility to see if it malfunctioned in some way with the ignition because that's certainly a question that has to be answered," said Clovis Unified spokeswoman Kelly Avants.

Many students appeared to have foot injuries and were loaded into ambulances without their shoes.

A voice message was also sent out to all parents at Granite Ridge on Monday, letting them know what happened.