A driver struck two children and one adult male on Wheeler Road in Southeast, D.C. Wednesday morning, according to D.C. police.

The two children and adult were taken to a local hospital, according to a spokesperson for D.C. Fire and EMS. One child was transported with serious injuries, and the other was transported with non-serious, non-life threatening injuries. The adult was transported with non-serious, non-life threatening injuries.

The D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson also reported that an additional child who was not struck was transported to a hospital with non-serious, non-life-threatening injuries. D.C. Police did not immediately respond to DCist/WAMU’s inquiries for additional details on the circumstances of the incident.

An on-scene video of the incident circulated on Wednesday morning, reporting that the two children were walking to school when a driver hit them. The video shows a white Jeep off to the side of the road, but MPD did not immediately confirm whether that was the car involved in the accident.

The incident also took place on Walk to School Day, an annual initiative in which several local schools participated. Organizers from the Ward 6 Public Schools Parents Organization distributed flyers asking participants to carry special pinwheels “in support of eliminating pedestrian and cyclist fatalities,” and encouraged families to choose a non-car option for their school commute. It was not immediately confirmed if the children were walking to school at the time of the incident.

“Too much of the emphasis is on telling kids to look left & look right. It’s not their job to walk to school safely; it’s ours,” Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen tweeted Wednesday, in response to the video from the scene. “To every adult — it’s our job, not theirs. From policy makers to each person behind a wheel — we have to do more & do better!”

Wednesday marks the latest in a string of traffic incidents involving children over the past several months. In April, a driver hit and killed 4-year-old Zyaire Joshua at Georgia Ave. and Kennedy Street in Northwest. Less than a month ago, 5-year-old Allie Hart was killed in Brookland when a city-contracted vehicle hit her while she was riding her bicycle.

The fatalities have outraged residents and councilmembers,  and ignited long-standing criticisms of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Vision Zero program, an initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2024. Since the program launched in 2015, traffic fatalities have increased each year, except in 2019. In September, the D.C. Auditor announced the office would be conducting a 10-month-long investigation into the failing program. MPD reports 30 traffic fatalities so far in 2021, as of today. Last year, the city reached a 10-year-high in fatalities, with 37.

Salim Adofo, chairman of the 8C Advisory Neighborhood Commission which serves the area near where the three victims were struck, says a few weeks ago, he submitted a request with the city’s Department of Transportation to install more traffic-calming measures along Wheeler Road, like speed bumps and rumble strips. He also requested that the city raise the height of the speed bumps along the corridor of Mississippi Avenue and 7th Street, near the intersection where the incident took place. DDOT sent Adofo a letter saying an investigation into his request would take around 130 days.

“My heart goes out to young girls and their family, that’s a really tragic thing to happen, but also to the other students in the area, because they’re going to be traveling to and from school as well, and everybody’s senses will be heightened because of this. There could be some anxiety,” Adofo says. “Seeing two little girls laid out in the street is not something anybody wants to see, especially on Walk To School Day.”

This post has been updated with a statement from ANC Commissioner Salim Adofo, DDOT’s response letter, and to correct the characterization of today’s incident.