3 kids hurt when car crashes into Woodstock baseball field

Three children in a car suffered injuries when it crashed into a dugout during a baseball game Saturday morning in Woodstock.

The Woodstock Police Department and the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded to a call at 9:43 a.m. Saturday to the Field of Dreams baseball field in Emricson Park, 900 W. South St., for a report of a car crash. First responders found a green Toyota Sienna minivan had crashed into a first base side dugout with the driver’s side airbag deployed, according to a news release from the Woodstock Police Department. No one on the grounds was injured.

Four children, ages 12 to 13, were in the vehicle. Three were taken to the hospital with “minor to moderate” injuries, Woodstock Fire/Rescue District communication specialist Alex Vucha said in a news release from the district. One child suffered a laceration on the leg and two were taken to the hospital as a precaution, according to the Woodstock Police Department release.

“Based upon statements from the occupants, it is believed that the vehicle, which nobody in the area heard running, was slipped into drive accidentally while attempting to adjust the radio, resulting in the vehicle moving forward, down the hill and into the concrete dugout,” Woodstock Police Deputy Chief of Support Services Rob Pritchard said in the release.

A game was in progress when the car crashed into the dugout, with “nearly a dozen teenage baseball players” in the dugout. The concrete structure protected the players from the crash, Vucha said in the fire/rescue district release.

“Additionally, several patrons watching the game were alerted to the vehicle and safely removed themselves from its path. We are very fortunate the swift actions of many individuals prevented a catastrophic incident,” Vucha said in the release.

The Hampshire baseball team in the first base dugout was unharmed. The vehicle was towed and no citations were issued, according to the Woodstock Police Department.

Representatives from the city of Woodstock and Woodstock Public Works were asked to evaluate the dugout damage, Vucha said.