LEWISTON — A 2½-year-old girl was injured Thursday by a sport-utility vehicle that her uncle was backing out of a driveway.

The vehicle was driven by Arondal Anderson, 35, at 125 Pierce St., police said.

The accident occurred as a group of children played near the Pierce Street apartment house. 

“The little girl ran behind him as he was backing,” said Sgt. Danny LaChance of the Lewiston Police Department. “He bumped her, knocking her to the ground. All the children started screaming. He stopped immediately.”

The girl, who LaChance did not identify, was bleeding and had cuts on her face, police said. She was alert, conscious and crying. She was taken by rescue to Central Maine Medical Center for observation, police said.

As a rescue worker carried the girl to a waiting ambulance, a small crowd stood watching on the street. Residents of 125 Pierce St. declined to comment.

Across the street, Jeannine Roy was shaken up after watching what happened.

“I saw the guy was going to pull out,” Roy said. “That little girl went in back of his car. I said, ‘Oh, my God, the car’s going to run over her!’ I didn’t have time to get out.”

Roy saw the accident from her window. Adults were sitting on the porch just yards away. “They didn’t see it,” Roy said. “You know, behind (an SUV) like that, you don’t see.”

No charges will be filed against Anderson, LaChance said.