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SOUTH JORDAN — Police say a South Jordan mother escaped with minimal injury when her 4-year-old knocked her car into gear and ran her over.
It's a scenario that South Jordan Police Lt. Matt Pennington said was "rare."
"That's something, to be honest, that I've never seen in my 13 years," Pennington said.
The woman was outside her running 2014 Nissan Altima about 12:30 p.m. Monday while her 4-year-old daughter played in the passenger seat, Pennington said. The car was parked in the family's driveway near 11000 South and Amini Way (2900 West).
At some point, the child apparently knocked the car either into reverse or neutral, and before the mother knew what happened, the vehicle was moving.
"Mom was near that passenger side door, which was left open, and as the vehicle went backward it knocked mom to the ground, which pinned her between the door and the ground and the vehicle ended up going over the top of one of her legs as well," Pennington said.
When the car stopped on the road, the mother said she was pinned beneath the open door.
Emergency personnel believe the woman may have a broken collarbone from the fall, but her leg was remarkably uninjured, Pennington said. She was transported to Riverton Hospital as a precaution.
Police are still investigating the accident, including how the car was shifted into gear, Pennington said. He urged parents to be cautious whenever they leave children in a car, even for a moment, and cautioned that small children should be in a safety seat.
"We all fall into the mode where we think, 'I'm just going to get out and check something' and leave the vehicle running, leaving your young child in the vehicle to tend for themselves, but I think this is a good reminder that anything can happen," Pennington said.
