Background: News footage of the intersection in Lisbon, Wis. where two children were injured in a hit-and-run on Oct. 18 (WISN). Inset: Zuyelmar Barrios Alvarez (Waukesha County Sheriff's Office).
A Wisconsin woman who had just moved to the state months ago is accused of injuring two children in a hit-and-run incident.
Zuyelmar Barrios Alvarez, 26, remains in custody at the Waukesha County Jail after she was charged with knowingly operating a vehicle without a valid license and hit and run involving great bodily harm. In a press release, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office said that on Saturday, calls came in to the county dispatch center about an 11-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl being "struck" by a car while riding a minibike.
The driver of the car that allegedly hit the two kids, Barrios Alvarez, allegedly left the scene and returned minutes later.
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Police said that both children were taken to the hospital, and the boy was in critical but stable condition. The little girl sustained minor injuries.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by local Fox affiliate WITI, the boy "was not able to breathe on his own" and suffered a "serious head injury." He also reportedly had two broken legs and a severed fingertip.
Barrios Alvarez was at the scene when sheriff's deputies arrived. According to the complaint, she told police that she approached the intersection at around "15-20 miles per hour and did not see any other vehicle." She told police that when she saw the minibike enter the intersection, she tried to stop and swerve around it, but was unable to avoid colliding with it.
The complaint stated that Barrios Alvarez told police that she "immediately stopped," but a witness was able to provide video footage of the alleged collision. According to the complaint, the video showed Barrios Alvarez's car "drive away from the scene for approximately two minutes and 10 seconds before returning to the scene and being stopped by neighbors who exited their homes to assist with the injured children."
By the time Barrios Alvarez returned, someone else had already called 911.
Police said that Barrios Alvarez cooperated with them at the scene and was able to provide a driver's license and proof of insurance. However, her license was from Illinois, where she had previously lived before moving to Wisconsin. Since her residence was in Wisconsin, her license was invalid.
Local ABC affiliate WISN was in the courtroom for Barrios Alvarez's appearance on Monday, when her bail was set at $50,000. Prosecutors said in court that cash bail was "warranted given the defendant hit these children and then drove away, and had to be flagged down by neighbors to stop and render aid."
Barrios Alvarez remains in custody on charges of knowingly operating a vehicle without a valid license and hit and run causing great bodily harm. Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 28.
