By Carolyn Cole/Staff Writer
published Jan. 1, 2009

A 2-year-old girl was taken by ambulance to an area hospital Monday after she was struck by a pickup truck in a Mustang parking lot.

Police Capt. Willard James said the child was leaving the Tractor Supply store with her parents at about 2 p.m. Monday in the Silver Center Shopping Center.

“As they exited the store, she ran from the store entryway and entered the parking lot heading east,” he said.

A 74-year-old woman was driving her 2000 Chevrolet pickup truck through the parking lot headed south, when the vehicle’s right front side collided with the child, James said.

The child was treated by ambulance workers and firefighters and taken by ambulance to a local hospital. James said reports show she suffered a fractured right leg and abrasions. He said police had not received an update regarding the girl’s condition as of press time.

No citations were issued in the incident, he said, and speed is not believed to be a factor in the accident.

“It’s just a very unfortunate incident of a child running away from her parents and into traffic,” James said. “It is very important for parents to keep (children) next to them because they are a lot more visible when they are next to their parents.”