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San Jose police are looking for a driver who struck two children riding their bikes and fled the scene.

Police say a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy were riding their bikes home from school on August 27. The children were on the sidewalk on Cottle Road when they entered the road at El Molina Way. Police say that's when a white Honda Civic ran a stop sign and struck them. The girl was knocked to the ground and the boy flew on to the hood of the car, then into the road.

The incident was caught on surveillance video.

“I’m in my garage with the doors closed and you could hear the screeching, and you could hear the sound of a crash. I actually thought it was two cars, that’s what it sounded like to me," said neighbor Wallas Cordozo.

Police say the driver backed up, stopped briefly and then fled the scene with two passengers.


Fortunately, the children were wearing helmets. The girl suffered a concussion, bumps and bruises. The boy has a broken left wrist.

“Oh look, I’m not dead,” said the 13 year old girl who asked we conceal her identity. “Basically my thoughts were, am I gonna die? This is how I die. Oh I’m not dead. Is he dead?”

The girl told KTVU that a passenger in the white Honda waved and said "sorry" as the car sped away from the scene.

San Jose police say the Honda had three occupants, who are now facing charges for felony hit and run. Neighbors report seeing a freshly spray painted black Honda with front end damage, parked several blocks away. But police haven’t made a link or located the driver and passengers.

“Confess. Come forward. Face the consequences. Do the right thing,” said the 13 year old girl’s mother, who asked we not identify her.

She says she’s doubtful the guilty will be caught. However her daughter and the other child have already caught a big break, by living to tell the story of how a car hit them while they were riding home from school.

