A 6-year-old was driving with his 4-year-old brother as passenger when he crashed a car into a woman walking her dog in Oakland, severely injuring her, authorities said.Both children are listed in stable condition and remain hospitalized, but the woman who was struck — identified by her family as 31-year-old Kiara Bowling — remained in critical condition, authorities said. The crash happened Thursday morning near 35th and Mangels avenues, just below Interstate 580 in East Oakland. Surveillance video from the area showed a white Toyota Camry traveling along 35th Avenue before sideswiping another vehicle and veering toward Bowling. She was hit so hard she was knocked out of her shoes, the East Bay Times reported. The 6-year-old then crashed into a retaining wall and the fence of a home’s front yard, deploying both airbags in the Toyota. The dog was later found unharmed.Authorities said the boys had taken their parents’ Camry while their parents were sleeping and drove several blocks from their home before the crash. The 6-year-old took the car keys from his father’s pocket, woke his younger brother up and used a kitchen chair to unlock a door before getting into the sedan, according to KTVU. The parents are cooperating with investigators, according to police. Their father is reportedly a ride-hail driver.Bowling suffered severe injuries, including multiple facial fractures, brain bleeding and internal bleeding, her family said in a GoFundMe set up to aid in her recovery. She has undergone multiple surgeries.“Kiara is facing a lifelong recovery and will need continued care far beyond the immediate aftermath of the accident,” Karon Markham, Bowling’s aunt, wrote on the fundraising page.Bowling is in her final semester at California State University East Bay and had been preparing to attend law school, according to her family. She was crowned Ms. Greater Bay Area at the California Regency International Pageant, KTVU reported.Her family said it does not blame the young children for what happened. “There is no ill will. We all know children do not know how to operate a vehicle,” Christina Blackmon, Bowling’s sister, told KTVU.“I don’t hold any animosity,” Markham told the news outlet. “When you have young children, you should always be present, because young children are going to try anything and everything. What they see you do, they’re gonna try.”An investigation into the crash is ongoing. The GoFundMe, which had raised more than $50,000 by Saturday night, will go toward helping Bowling and her family with medical bills, ongoing care, transportation, physical therapy and possible future surgeries.
