Nine people taken to hospital after car runs into funeral crowd at LDS church

Nine people taken to hospital after car runs into funeral crowd at LDS church

Credit: Adam Worthington/KTVB

by KTVB

KTVB.COM

Posted on October 7, 2013 at 4:06 PM

Updated today at 5:24 PM

BOISE -- Nine people were injured, including a 5-year-old boy, after car hit a group of pedestrians at a Boise LDS church this afternoon.
The accident happened around 2:43 p.m. at a church at McMillan Road and Shamrock Avenue.
Boise Police say it appears a male driver in his 70s was in a Toyota sedan parked next to the sidewalk and he unintentionally accelerated into a crowd of people leaving a funeral at the church.
Eight people were hit.  Nine people, including a female passenger in the Toyota sedan, were transported to three area hospitals.  Six of them were taken by ambulance, three others were taken by private vehicles.
Preliminary Information indicates that two of the injured appear to have serious injuries, including the 5-year-old boy.  Two people were treated at the scene.
The injured people were taken to Saint Alphonsus in Eagle, Saint Alphonsus in Boise and St. Luke's in Meridian.
The male driver of the Toyota was not injured.
A witness tells KTVB that the immediate family had just left the funeral service when the accident happened.  They were standing at the side doors of the church preparing to leave for the cemetery, when the elderly man crashed into them.
The witness says she heard screaming and yelling and saw several people hurt on the ground.  She says some people attending the funeral began helping the injured, while others began giving blessings and praying.
Boise Police continue to investigate.  No citations have been issued.  A spokeswoman for Boise Police says the accident does not appear to be intentional.  She says some of the victims hurt today belong to the same family.