Driver hits 3 kids near school — then cops find ‘incendiary devices,’ CA police say

The Santa Ana Police Department said it found “incendiary devices” in the car of a driver accused of striking three children near an elementary school.

The three Santa Ana children were taken to a hospital in stable condition, police said in a news release. Police said they found the driver had trespassed into Taft Elementary School in Santa Ana and was escorted off campus before the incident.

The 26-year-old man said he needed to use the bathroom at the school, NBC Los Angeles reported. School officials said he had a backpack at the time and seemed suspicious.

People on campus kept asking the man to leave, as they knew he wasn’t related to anyone at the school, the outlet reported.

After the man drove away, surveillance video showed him appearing to slam on his brakes before driving onto the sidewalk and hitting the three children – a 10-year-old boy, 11-year-old girl and 7-year-old girl, NBC Los Angeles reported.

The man was arrested shortly afterward and seemed to have stabbed himself in the stomach, ABC 7 reported. He was taken to the hospital afterward.

Officials founded four “incendiary devices” inside the man’s car afterward, the Orange County Register reported. No devices were found at the school, and the school did not appear to be under any direct threat.

Police said they weren’t sure why the man was in Santa Ana, as he was from Valencia, about 65 miles away, ABC 7 reported.

The Santa Ana Police Department said it is currently investigating the incident.

The driver, whose identity has not been publicly released, is being treated at a hospital while in police custody, according to the Orange County Register.

Santa Ana is about 32 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Driver hits 3 kids near school — then cops find ‘incendiary devices,’ CA police say."