(KTLA) — Three children were airlifted to a hospital after a car crashed into a day care center in California on Monday, officials said.
The vehicle crashed into La Petite Academy in Santa Clarita around 4:40 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The impact shattered concrete and glass, knocking over bookcases in the room where toddlers were playing.
Three children, all under the age of 4, were hospitalized as a precautionary measure only, and they sustained minor injuries, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said.
Aerial video showed a helicopter airlifting a child in a car seat as authorities conducted an investigation. A white Honda Pilot could be seen parked across the damaged part of the one-story building.
Two-year-old Shayna Adler was one of the children rushed to the hospital, her parents said.
“She was on the other side of that wall. She was the kid that it landed on. … They found her underneath the bookshelf,” Shayna’s father, Steve Adler, said as he carried his daughter later Monday. “She’s OK. A little scratched up, but that’s about it.”
Shayna’s mother is a doctor who works nearby, and she raced to the scene when she learned what happened.
“The other children are just fine,” said Allison Adler, Shayna’s mother. “She went first, and then the other two children went in the other helicopter. They were just fine, both doing fine. I said goodbye to the moms.”
The driver of the SUV has not been identified. Allison Adler said day care staff told her it was someone’s grandmother who’d come to pick up her grandkids.
Shayna’s father said his little girl appeared unfazed.
“You got to ride in the helicopter. Right, sweetie?” he said while looking at her. “She was singing the whole time.”