2-month-old child in serious condition following accident

A two-month-old Marshalltown boy remains in serious condition following a Wednesday accident in which a SUV crashed into a basement apartment.Police said Lah Paw, 25, who has a driver’s permit but was driving alone, accidentally accelerated in a parking lot, confusing the gas pedal with the break pedal, and drove into the apartment at 306 Plaza Heights Road. The accident occurred at approximately 2:15 p.m.Htoo (Jolly) Paw, the infant, was in the apartment along with five other people when the SUV crashed. The baby was seriously injured, according to police, and airlifted to a Des Moines hospital. A spokesperson with Blank Children’s Hospital said Thursday afternoon that he was listed in serious condition in the Intensive Care Unit.The others who were in the apartment at the time of the accident had varying degrees of injuries and were transported to Marshalltown Medical Surgical Center by ambulance, where they were treated and released. Those injured were Tin Hla, 49, Shwe Nyunt, unknown age, Day Day, 29, Kaw Kaw, 40 and another woman named Lah Paw, age unknown.Capt. Mike Hanken, of the Marshalltown Police Department, said the vehicle was hung up on brick block walls when it collided with the building, which prevented it from collapsing down on the people in the apartment. When officers arrived, the people inside the apartment were trapped, he said, but were able to escape from underneath the vehicle.The driver is not likely to receive charges because the accident occurred on private property, Hanken said, however the accident will be reported to the Iowa Department of Transportation.”We’ll continue to look for applicable charges, but we can’t claim it was reckless driving because it was inexperience in operating a motor vehicle,” Hanken said. “The accident will likely have an impact on whether she is granted a valid license.”The building, owned by Christy Steelsmith, sustained approximately $40,000 in damages and the Nissan Pathfinder had about $7,000 in damages, he said.The Marshalltown Police Department released details of the accident Thursday morning.