BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Sutro Elementary School employees gather near the scene after Judy Perez's Jeep Grand Cherokee Ladero tore through a fence when her brakes failed in the school's parking lot on Thursday morning in Dayton.
DAYTON - A Dayton 6-year-old was injured Thursday morning after she was struck by a car that crashed through the fence of a playground at Sutro Elementary School.
Lt. Jim Cupp said the accident happened about 8:55 a.m. as Judy Perez, 27, was delivering her daughter to first-grade classes.
When Perez pulled up to a parking space on Dayton Village Parkway near the gate to the kindergarten and first-grade playground, her brakes failed to work, Cupp said.
Perez's Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo jumped the curb, tore down the gate and headed toward students lining up for classes to begin.
After striking the girl, the Jeep continued on, traveling a total of 156 yards into the playground.
It's unclear if the child, whose name has not yet been released, was thrown by the vehicle or trapped underneath.
The girl, who suffered a contusion on her head, was "alert and talking," when taken from the playground by helicopter to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, said Cupp.
Perez has volunteered for a blood draw to determine if she was under the influence of anything, said Cupp. He said there was no indication that Perez was under the influence.
Her daughter, who was in the vehicle at the time of the accident, was taken into the school following the accident, but an hour later, the two were reunited on the playground.
The Jeep was impounded and its brake system will be inspected, according to a news release.
Possible charges against Perez are pending a review by the district attorney.
• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.