Overview
- A white sedan driven by two very young brothers hit pedestrian Kiara Bowling on 35th Avenue in East Oakland after the children took their parents’ car, and Bowling remains critically ill in Highland Hospital following multiple surgeries.
- Bowling, in her early 30s and a law student who was recently named Miss California Regency International 2026, suffered brain bleeds, facial fractures and internal injuries and faces a long recovery.
- Reports identify the older child as either 6 or 7 years old and his brother as 4; both children were also hospitalized with injuries that their family described as fractures and a concussion.
- Oakland police are questioning the parents, who are cooperating with investigators, and legal analysts say criminal charges against the children are unlikely because California law generally presumes young children lack criminal intent.
- The family’s GoFundMe has raised nearly $72,000 toward a $90,000 goal for medical care and rehab, and the case is expected to focus next on civil liability, insurance coverage and possible child-protection involvement.