Child hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after car crash in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO – A child is fighting for his life after a car hit a tree in Sacramento on Sunday evening.

The crash happened just before 4 p.m. at the intersection of Carlson Drive and J Street, not far from Sacramento State.

Police were investigating for hours and said a child had life-threatening injuries. The other passengers, who were identified as two men, were injured and are expected to survive.

The intersection is a busy one, connecting traffic from the university to downtown. This is why this crash doesn't come as a surprise to many who live around the area.

"At this point, it doesn't appear that the child was ejected, however, they are facing some serious injuries,"  said Allison Smith, a Sacramento Police Department public information officer.

Police say that the child was in a car seat in the back.

"The way the infrastructure feeds the cars onto this street it's like a highway on-ramp and they need to install some calming measures because people drive through there at crazy speeds," said a bicyclist who rides through the area almost daily.

He says some of the sudden curves near this intersection have almost sent cars airborne, nearly hitting him.

"Wear your seat belt, slow down, prevent any distractions," Smith said.

"It sucks that it takes people dying before people pay attention to this stuff," the bicyclist said.

Police say drugs and alcohol were not a factor, but they haven't ruled out any other causes at this point in the investigation.