An 11-year-old girl remained in critical condition Saturday, one day after being struck by a possible drunken driver while exiting her school bus in north Minneapolis on Friday afternoon.
Officers responded to N. 23rd and Penn avenues around 4:50 p.m. after 911 callers reported that a child had been hit by a car as she attempted to cross the road, said police spokesman John Elder. Bystanders performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
She was taken to an area hospital, where she remains in intensive care in critical but stable condition.
The driver, later identified by authorities as 60-year-old Gregory Garth, stopped immediately and cooperated with police. Officers suspected that Garth had been using drugs or alcohol, Elder said, and he agreed to a blood draw after receiving a court order.
He told investigators that the bus' emergency stop arm had failed to open.
Garth is in the Hennepin County jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular operation involving bodily harm. His criminal record includes a previous conviction for third-degree DWI, a gross misdemeanor.
