WOMAN, TWO CHILDREN INJURED ON BROADWAY

A woman and two children were injured Thursday after one of the children ran into traffic and her mother attempted to stop her.

Traffic officer John Davis of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said 3-year-old Brittany Porter, her mother, Cheryl Diane Porter, 30, and 1-year-old Tiffany Mead were struck by a car traveling west on Broadway at about 6 p.m. All are from Cape Girardeau.

Davis said Brittany Porter ran from her mother into the street as they waited to cross. Cheryl Porter, who was carrying the younger child, ran after her daughter. The three ran into the front right side of the car.

The driver was Mark Robert Maddock, 20, of St. Louis, a student at Southeast Missouri State University.

Davis said the Maddock hit his brakes and skidded as soon as the child came into view, but was unable to stop in time to avoid striking the three.

The child apparently ran out from behind a parked car, Davis said. He said Maddock was traveling slow at the time of the accident.

"She just appeared from out of nowhere," he said. "He (Maddock) hit his brakes as soon as he could."

A spokesperson at Southeast Missouri Hospital, where the three were taken, said all were still being treated in the emergency room late Thursday night.

A woman who said she witnessed part of the accident said Porter and one of the children were thrown onto the hood of the car.

"They flipped over (the car)," said Roshunda Robinson, who said she was inside Maggie's Beauty Salon when the accident occurred. After she and others ran toward the accident, Robinson said the three victims were found lying on the street.

The accident occurred on Broadway near the intersection of Fountain Street.