LAKE WORTH -- A 7-year-old girl was killed Saturday and several people were seriously injured when a man in a pickup plowed into them in a shopping center parking lot.
Police were called to the 6500 block of Lake Worth Avenue at 1:41 p.m., Lake Worth police spokesman Don Price said.Two adults ages 20 and 40 and two children were struck in the parking lot in front of the Ross department store. The pickup continued to the front of a Target store, where two other children were hit. The truck crashed into two cars before stopping.Paul Ruhl of Fort Worth was sitting in one of the cars.He said he had just dropped off family members in front of the Target and had pulled into a parking space."I didn't even have a chance to turn off my ignition," Ruhl said. "The truck landed on top of my car; the rear wheel was in my passenger window."Ruhl, who was uninjured, said a little girl hit by the truck was thrown onto his windshield. When he got out to help, he saw another little girl on the ground who had apparently been hit, he said."Her dad ran over, picked her up and took her into the Target where it was cool," Ruhl said, referring to the girl who had hit his windshield. "Everybody was hysterical. The dad and the little girl's mom, I felt so sorry for them."Flo Hannan of Lake Worth said the front of the store was chaotic and people were hysterical when she went to the checkout counter to pay for her purchases."A lot of people, customers and store employees, were running around crying," Hannan said. "I saw a little girl lying there. They were working on her. ... I hugged my granddaughter; she is about that age."Hannan said she took her granddaughter to the back of the store to keep her away from the scene."I took my time shopping so she wouldn't have to see it," she said. "Then I came outside and found out my van had been hit" by the pickup.Hannan said her van was parked next to Ruhl's car."The gentleman driving the truck seemed to be OK but he looked distraught," she said.Price said the 82-year-old pickup driver was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. His condition was unknown late Saturday."An officer went down there so we could determine if it was medical," Price said. "Right now we don't know what caused this. The doctors are still running tests."Price said police will await test results before determining whether any charges will be filed.The 7-year-old girl was taken by helicopter to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth and was pronounced dead a short time later, Price said.He said the other injured children range in age from 7 to 12. Matt Zavadsky, director of public affairs with MedStar, said all the children were taken to Cook Children's with injuries that are not life-threatening.No other details of the investigation were available late Saturday.Susan McFarland,817-390-7684Twitter: @susanmcfarland1Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
