19 children hurt as SUV smashes into California preschool

ANDERSON, Calif. - A car smashed into a Northern California preschool, sending 19 children and an employee to the hospital but their injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

A Suzuki sport utility vehicle on Thursday plowed through the wall of Great Adventures Christian Preschool around 2:30 p.m. in Anderson, a Shasta County community northwest of Sacramento.

The SUV ended up completely inside the main area of the building, according to a Police Department photo and Facebook statement.

Fourteen children were taken by ambulance to hospitals with varying levels of injuries, "with the majority of those transported being for precautionary reasons," the statement said. "No fatalities have been reported or are expected."

Two of the children were taken to a pediatric intensive care unit at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, the Record Searchlight of Redding reported. However, there was no immediate word on their conditions.

Police Chief Jon Poletski said earlier that five other children were taken to hospitals by parents.

The driver, a woman from Anderson, cooperated with authorities, didn’t show any sign of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and was released after providing a statement, police said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, police said.

Anderson is 10 miles south of Redding and about 150 miles (241 kilometers) north of Sacramento.