Pittsburg girl dies after being accidentally run over by mother, police say

PITTSBURG — A 5-year-old girl died after being run over by her mother Wednesday afternoon in what police are describing as a tragic accident, police said.

Rachel Lopez, of Pittsburg, was taken to Sutter Delta Medical Center, where she died, said Pittsburg police Lt. Brian Addington.

The death remains under investigation, but it appears that it was an accident and the girl's mother will likely not be cited or prosecuted, Addington said.

According to police, the girl's mother was heading to her home in the 1000 block of Muir Creek Drive around 4:30 p.m. when she stopped a couple of houses away to talk to two of her three daughters, who were playing on the sidewalk.

The mother rolled down her window to tell the girls to get inside the house and then proceeded to drive off at a slow speed, Addington said.

What the mother couldn't see was that her 6-year-old daughter had ridden in front of the vehicle in a big wheel-type tricycle, which lies low to the ground and is generally out of a driver's field of vision, Addington said.

The driver soon noticed that something was dragging and soon discovered that her daughter had been caught under her right-front tire, Addington said. She immediately stopped the vehicle, backed up to free her daughter and tended to her until help arrived.

Addington said police have no reason to believe that the driver was impaired.

"The mother was very distraught, and very cooperative"

Staff writer Mike Taugher contributed to this story. Reach Robert Salonga at 925-943-8013 or rsalonga@bayareanewsgroup.com.