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Witnesses said the 6-year-old child was knocked into the air when a southbound Honda Civic struck her as she dashed across Spring Valley Road between Memorial Park and her new home Monday afternoon, they said.
She was last reported to be in critical condition with a traumatic head injury Tuesday at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Although area residents have complained about vehicles speeding through the neighborhood, the 25-year-old motorist from Englewood who was driving the Honda wasn't at fault," Maywood Police Chief Terence R. Kenny said.
Based on several witness accounts and additional investigation, it "appears to have been a serious and unfortunate accident," Kenny said.
A delivery van that had stopped in front of a house had obstructed her view, the chief said.
"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 woman "stayed and was pretty shook up," a witness said, "but unfortunately the child came out of nowhere and dashed across the street."
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.
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.
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