JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 3-year-old has life-threatening injuries after being hit by a car on Lem Turner Road in Northwest Jacksonville.
According to police, a grandfather was walking across Lem Turner Road near Capper Road with his 3-year-old granddaughter Thursday afternoon.
The man let go of the 3-year-old, she got ahead of him and was hit by a car.
Erica Mitchell, an eyewitness, told Action News, "He let her hand go and she ran in the street. Then the car came and hit her and she flew up the air."
Police say the driver of the Ford Crown Victoria who struck the child was not speeding in the 45 mile per hour zone and did nothing illegal. But investigators say the grandfather may have committed a crime when he crossed the street near the Kendall Court Apartments with the little girl at least 100 yards away from the nearest crosswalk.
Detective Brian Blaquiere of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Traffic Homicide Division said, "There could be possible criminal charges not dealing with accident itself, but with child neglect type issues."
The child was transported to UF & Shands Hospital with serious injuries to her head and abdomen.
The driver stopped at the scene and will likely not be charged for the accident.