{"id":6672,"date":"2026-08-12T17:08:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6672"},"modified":"2026-08-12T17:08:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:08:05","slug":"we-need-answers-woman-yet-to-regain-consciousness-after-being-hit-by-car-driven-by-6-year-old-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6672","title":{"rendered":"‘We need answers’: Woman yet to regain consciousness after being hit by car driven by 6-year-old boy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of the young children who commandeered their parents\u2019 car last week in Oakland has been released from the hospital, authorities said Tuesday, five days after the 4-year-old boy and his brother went for a ride that ended when they barreled into a woman walking a dog.<\/p>\n

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The young child\u2019s 6-year-old brother remained hospitalized Tuesday with two broken legs, as did the 31-year-old woman whom they hit as they traveled down 35th Avenue on Thursday morning, about a half-mile from their East Oakland home, authorities said.<\/p>\n

The woman, Kiara Bowling, has yet to regain consciousness as she battles myriad injuries from the wreck, including a brain injury as well as facial and rib fractures, according to her aunt, Karon Markham. On Tuesday afternoon, she struggled to comprehend how swiftly her niece\u2019s life had changed at the hands of two boys barely old enough to attend preschool or kindergarten.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s stressful, because of the unknown,\u201d said Markham, who wept while describing her niece\u2019s injuries. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what God has planned for her. And it\u2019s all up to God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowling was walking her friend\u2019s 7-year-old Chow Chow at the time of the crash, authorities said. The dog also was injured in the wreck.<\/p>\n

At the time, Bowling was just months away from graduating in December from Cal State East Bay with a bachelor\u2019s degree; her long-term goal was to eventually become a lawyer. She was the reigning Miss California in the 2026 Regency International Pageant, Markham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had her full life ahead of her,\u201d Markham said.<\/p>\n

The crash happened at 9:15 a.m. Thursday at the intersection of 35th and Mangels avenues in the Allendale district, just south of Interstate 580.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Authorities say the 6-year-old boy was driving his parents\u2019 Toyota Camry north on 35th Avenue when the car hit another vehicle and lost control \u2014 hitting Bowling, who was in a crosswalk. The child\u2019s 4-year-old brother was in the passenger\u2019s seat and suffered a concussion, authorities confirmed.<\/p>\n

The child\u2019s parents were asleep at the time, authorities confirmed, though it remains unclear exactly how the children got the car keys and managed to drive away in the car. Their father works as a rideshare driver, and had worked the night before the crash, authorities said.<\/p>\n

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On Tuesday, Bowling\u2019s aunt said she held no ill will against the children, but said their parents should be held responsible for what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t blame the children \u2014 I do not blame the children at all,\u201d Markham said. \u201cIf your kids are up and you\u2019re too tired, hire somebody to come in. Because if you have raised children at all, kids can get into anything. It can be markers, writing all over the wall. If they see you strike a match, they\u2019re going to try to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou have to stay woke physically and mentally,\u201d she added. \u201cWe need answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one has yet been criminally charged in the crash, which remains under investigation by the Oakland Police Department.<\/p>\n

If the child driving the vehicle had been older \u2014 perhaps a teenager \u2014 then authorities could seek to charge that person in juvenile court. Yet \u201cthe juvenile system is not equipped to deal with someone that young\u201d as the 6-year-old accused of driving the car, said Steven Clark, a Bay Area attorney and legal analyst.<\/p>\n

While parents could theoretically face criminal charges, the circumstances of the case will make for a difficult decision when prosecutors are faced with the decision on whether to file charges. Grabbing car keys is far different than, say, a child grabbing a gun that\u2019s left unattended and accessible, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the calls for accountability from the parents, because of the outcome of the case,\u201d Clark said. \u201cBut in the analysis, I don\u2019t know we\u2019d hold a parent to the standard of \u2018I got to hide my car keys from a 6-year-old.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n

Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

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“I don’t blame the children \u2014 I do not blame the children at all,\u201d said the aunt of the woman injured. “Because if you have raised children at all, kids can get into anything.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n‘We need answers’: Woman yet to regain consciousness after being hit by car driven by 6-year-old boy - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6672\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"‘We need answers’: Woman yet to regain consciousness after being hit by car driven by 6-year-old boy - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""I don't blame the children \u2014 I do not blame the children at all,\u201d said the aunt of the woman injured. 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