San Mateo Man Arrested After Allegedly Hitting 3 Special Needs Students, Teacher While Driving Under Influence
SAN MATEO (CBS SF) -- A San Mateo man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of swerving on to the sidewalk while driving under the influence and hitting three special needs students and a teacher, police said.
After an investigation into the Sept. 10 crash in the 300 block of West Hillsdale Boulevard, police obtained a $350,000 arrest warrant for the 53-year-old driver and he was arrested, police said.
The three teen boys and the student teacher, a 28-year-old woman from Belmont, were walking near Hillsdale High School as part of a school field trip at 11:17 a.m. that day.
They were part of a special education class of about 15 students and five teachers taking a walking field trip to teach the students about life skills.
The driver, a San Mateo resident, was headed west on West Hillsdale and veered onto the sidewalk, striking the three students and the teacher.
The teacher suffered head trauma and broken bones and the three students, ages 15, 16 and 18, suffered minor injuries including abrasions and lacerations.
They were all hospitalized with injuries not considered life threatening. The driver remained at the crash scene and was also taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
Police did not suspect that the driver deliberately swerved onto the sidewalk, but determined after an investigation that he had been driving under the influence and sought a warrant for his arrest.
Once the warrant was issued, he was safely taken into custody a few hours later.
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