3-year-old girl, infant in stroller hit by semi in south Tacoma

TACOMA, Wash. -- A 3-year-old girl is in the hospital after being hit by a tractor-trailer Wednesday afternoon in south Tacoma.

About 1:45 p.m., a semi was in a parking lot, facing eastbound and waiting for traffic to clear in the 9500 block of Steele Street, Tacoma police officer Loretta Cool said. The driver did not see the mother and her two children on the sidewalk. He started to pull out into traffic just as they were stepping in front, she said. Since the truck driver was just starting to move, Cool said, the truck was probably going less than 5 mph.

However, the 3-year-old girl and a stroller, with a 5-month-old infant inside, went under the truck, Cool said.



The 3-year-old girl was transported to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital with serious injuries. She is expected to survive, Cool said.

The 5-month-old was also at Mary Bridge for evaluation, but it did not appear that the infant had a serious injury.

Traffic on Steele Street will be closed for at least four hours. The semi driver stayed at the scene of the crash and is cooperating with an investigation.

This story is breaking and will be updated shortly.