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A delivery van that had stopped in front of a house on Spring Valley Road across from Memorial Park around noon Monday had obstructed the driver's view when the child ran out into the street, Maywood Police Chief Terence R. Kenny said Tuesday.
Witnesses said the southbound Honda Civic knocked the youngster into the air.
"The driver stopped immediately and remained on scene," Kenny said. "Police and HUMC EMS personnel tended to the victim who was transported to HUMC with critical injuries."
The girl was last reported to be in critical condition with a traumatic head injury Tuesday at Hackensack University Medical Center.
No summonses were issued, the chief said.
Although area residents have complained about vehicles speeding through the neighborhood, this "appears to have been a serious and unfortunate accident," Kenny said.
The driver "stayed and was pretty shook up," a witness reported, "but unfortunately the child came out of nowhere and dashed across the street."
Maywood police are investigating the crash with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Unit and the county sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected evidence.
Kenny noted that residents may see skid marks in the roadway -- which he said were created as part of a skid test during the probe.
"This is an important fact for residents to be aware of since visible skid marks in the roadway could leave the impression that they occurred during the accident and that speed was a factor" when it wasn't, he said.
The chief asked that anyone who may have witnessed the accident to call Maywood police: (201) 845-8800.
Few in the area know the family, who authorities said recently emigrated to the United States from another country.
Another area resident said the child had been with two other neighborhood kids in the Memorial Park playground roughly 10 minutes before she was struck.
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