Woman hurt after 8-year-old grandson started her car and knocked her to ground: police
LINDENHURST, Long Island (WABC) -- A grandmother in Suffolk County was seriously injured after police say her 8-year-old grandson started her car and knocked her to the ground.
Officers say the child climbed into the Honda outside a home on Wellwood Avenue on Monday morning and pushed the start button.
Police say Gina Bente, 63, ran outside when she noticed the car had gone into reverse.
She tried to stop it, but the driver's door was open and struck her. She fell to the ground and hit her head on the pavement.
"I just think it's tragic, you know? I'm very sad about it and it's like somebody's life changed in a day," said neighbor Robin Lord. "I mean they seem to be nice people. They always had the little kids out in the front playing and stuff."
Neighbors say the boy told them his grandmother permitted him to press the car's start button, but the rest was a terrible accident.
Bente was brought to Good Samaritan University Hospital in serious condition.
Neighbors say she was bleeding heavily from her head.
Her 8-year-old grandson was not injured.
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