‘I'm going to jail': Woman charged with DUI after child, father are hit in DC

A little girl is seriously injured and a woman stands accused of driving under the influence after police say the driver hit the child and her father on a sidewalk in Southeast D.C. on Saturday afternoon.

Thaniyyah Veney, 32, of Southeast D.C., was arrested and charged with DUI, reckless driving, leaving after colliding, aggravated assault and assault with a dangerous weapon, police said in an update Sunday.

A home surveillance camera captured the sound of a woman repeatedly screaming “Oh my God!” and “I’m going to jail!”

The little girl and her dad were walking on a sidewalk in the 3200 block Fourth St SE, headed to the pool at about 1 p.m., when a silver Ford sedan plowed into them. The child was trapped under the car.

“We were trying to pull her out from underneath. She was just laying here,” said a neighbor who ran outside to try to help.

A D.C. Fire and EMS crew set a ladder onto folded fire hoses to create enough leverage to lift the car off the child. She was rushed to Children’s National hospital by helicopter as her father was taken to another hospital by ambulance with less serious injuries. A man’s shoe and a backpack could be seen near the car.

Quick thinking by Engine 33 Saturday led to the rapid rescue of a child trapped under a vehicle. They used a portable ladder & hose racks to create a fulcrum to lift the vehicle & extricate the child. Photo below shows same technique FDNY used in a similar rescue. #DCsBravest pic.twitter.com/3vL84L69xb

— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) July 10, 2023

The child is 5 years old and the crash fractured her skull, broke her shoulder and broke her hip, Council Member Trayon White, who represents the area, said online. She’s expected to survive, he said.

According to the initial investigation, Veney ran a stop sign at Fourth and Savannah streets SE, hit a parked car on Fourth Street, swerved, hopped a curb and hit the child and her father. She then hit a man sitting on a porch. The car finally came to rest on the front steps of a home. The man on the porch was able to get away uninjured, neighbors said.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Veney has a lawyer.

Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.

Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.