BROOKLINE, Mass. -- A driver traveling at a high rate of speed through a commercial neighborhood crashed into several cars causing a fiery explosion late Thursday afternoon, police said.

Eight people were injured including five children, ranging in age from a 6-month-old baby to an elderly person.

Photos | Unedited Video

Video from a helicopter over the crash on Harvard Street showed firefighters putting out a fire in the car that was badly burned and had crashed into other cars. Debris, including reams of paper, could be seen on the street in the Coolidge Corner area.

Witnesses told NewsCenter 5 that the car was speeding when the 80-year-old driver of a van lost control and caused a chain-reaction crash involving three other cars. At least one of the cars exploded in flames.

"You see this car going by. It felt like 90 miles an hour and you hear people screaming. I ran right out. People in the shops came out," said Judy Rothschild.

Rothschild said others rescued victims from their cars, including one person who was briefly trapped in their burning car.

(TuBoston.com / El Planeta)

Two of those injured were taken to Boston hospitals with critical injuries.