88-year-old Driver Strikes Pregnant Mother in Crosswalk

By Anne La Jeunesse

The condition of a young pregnant mother who was struck down by a car in a Santa Monica crosswalk Thursday evening has been upgraded from critical to serious, but stable, said Santa Monica Police Lt. Bill Brucker.

The 33-year-old Santa Monica woman, who is eight months pregnant, was crossing Montana at Lincoln Boulevard and pushing her 2-year-old son in a stroller at 6:40 p.m. when she was struck by a car driven by an 88-year-old Santa Monica man, Brucker said. Neither the woman or the driver are being identified by police.

The driver was turning left from Lincoln Boulevard onto Montana Avenue when the accident occurred, Brucker said.

The woman rolled onto her side and did not receive any direct impact on her stomach, but did sustain a broken pelvis, Brucker said. She is being treated in the intensive care unit of Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.

The toddler received cuts and bruises, but was otherwise uninjured.

"The fetus is OK, it had a strong heartbeat," Brucker said.

The driver of the car was not injured, and has not been cited, but the accident remains under investigation, Brucker said.

Glare from the sun may have been partly to blame for the accident, he said.