Background: News footage of the intersection in Lisbon, Wis. where two children were injured in a hit-and-run on Oct. 18 (WISN). Inset: Zuyelmar Barrios Alvarez (Waukesha County Sheriff”s Office).
A recent transplant to Wisconsin is facing serious charges after allegedly injuring two children in a hit-and-run incident. The incident has drawn significant attention, as the accused is said to have fled the scene before returning shortly afterward.
Zuyelmar Barrios Alvarez, 26, currently resides in the Waukesha County Jail. She faces charges for operating a vehicle without a valid license and committing a hit-and-run resulting in severe injury. According to a statement from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office, the troubling event unfolded on Saturday, when emergency services were alerted to an 11-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl being struck by a vehicle while they rode a minibike.
Barrios Alvarez is accused of being the driver who hit the children and reportedly left the scene initially, only to return shortly thereafter. Law enforcement officials say both children were quickly transported to a hospital. The boy is in critical but stable condition, while the girl suffered less severe injuries.
The criminal complaint filed in the case reveals the boy’s serious condition, noting he struggles to breathe unaided and has endured a severe head injury, along with two broken legs and a severed fingertip.
When deputies arrived, Barrios Alvarez was at the scene. The complaint details her account, in which she claimed to have been traveling at approximately 15-20 miles per hour. She stated she did not notice any other vehicles and attempted to halt and maneuver around the minibike upon spotting it at the intersection, but was unable to prevent the collision.
Barrios Alvarez was at the scene when sheriff’s deputies arrived. According to the complaint, she told police that she approached the intersection at around “15-20 miles per hour and did not see any other vehicle.” She told police that when she saw the minibike enter the intersection, she tried to stop and swerve around it, but was unable to avoid colliding with it.
The complaint stated that Barrios Alvarez told police that she “immediately stopped,” but a witness was able to provide video footage of the alleged collision. According to the complaint, the video showed Barrios Alvarez’s car “drive away from the scene for approximately two minutes and 10 seconds before returning to the scene and being stopped by neighbors who exited their homes to assist with the injured children.”
By the time Barrios Alvarez returned, someone else had already called 911.
Police said that Barrios Alvarez cooperated with them at the scene and was able to provide a driver’s license and proof of insurance. However, her license was from Illinois, where she had previously lived before moving to Wisconsin. Since her residence was in Wisconsin, her license was invalid.
Local ABC affiliate WISN was in the courtroom for Barrios Alvarez’s appearance on Monday, when her bail was set at $50,000. Prosecutors said in court that cash bail was “warranted given the defendant hit these children and then drove away, and had to be flagged down by neighbors to stop and render aid.”
Barrios Alvarez remains in custody on charges of knowingly operating a vehicle without a valid license and hit and run causing great bodily harm. Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 28.
