Car drives through playground during recess

Recess at a Wheaton elementary school included more than a game of tag Tuesday after a vehicle drove through a playground area during the lunch-hour.

Students at Emerson Elementary, 119 S. Woodlawn St., were lined up to head inside when a vehicle drove into the back parking lot of the school, across the far end of the playground area, continued across a field and drove away, said Wheaton Warrenville District 200 spokeswoman Erica Foreman.

“It wasn't barreling through, but it was moving slowly,” Foreman said.

Luckily, none of the students were running around the playground at the time, Foreman said.

“The kids were talking to the police officers that showed up right away,” she said. “The kids described (the driver) as a little old lady with dark sunglasses.”

Wheaton Police Deputy Chief Tom Meloni said the driver became confused and drove into a back parking lot because the school had not set up cones during recess. He said the parking lot is also used as a playground, and normally the cones are set up.

Foreman said the school contacted the city's engineering department and is working to create a barrier to block the back parking lot.

Police said they do not know who the driver of the vehicle was and are not pursuing the case because no one was injured and there was no accident.

“The teachers did an amazing job of making sure the kids were safe,” Foreman said. “Some of the sixth graders were out there taking a leader ship role to keep the younger kids as close to the school as possible.”