A 3-year-old boy died Saturday evening after he was struck by a car being driven by his mother in the parking lot of Harding High School in St. Paul, police said.
Officers were called at 5:45 p.m. on a report that a car had struck a child. They found a sedan with front-end damage and the driver, a "visibly shaken and emotional" 39-year-old woman, police said in a news release.
The woman, Wah Has Paw, was with family members practicing driving the vehicle when she accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, police said. The car struck her son, Cha Kpaw-mooku, pinning him against a clothing collection box.
A passerby stopped to help and took the child to Regions Hospital. "Sadly, efforts to save his life were unsuccessful," police said.
Paw and other witnesses are cooperating with investigators, police said, adding that "there are no initial signs of alcohol or impairment."
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