Mother Rescues Children Trapped In Car

BOSTON -- Five adults and two children were injured in Lowell on Tuesday after a pickup truck crashed into an intersection, landing on two other vehicles.

Photos: Crash Scene

Police and witnesses said a Ford F150 pickup was traveling at a high rate of speed on Willard Street when it became airborne, hit a utility pole and landed on its side on top of a red Chevy Blazer and a Honda Civic that were stopped at a red light in front of 1095 Bridge St. at 12:51 p.m. There were two adults and two children inside the SUV.

Witnesses called 911 and helped one of the children out of the crushed Blazer. The other child was still trapped in the car. The children's mother was eventually able to climb out and rescued the trapped child through the sunroof.

"I ran over to the back door, I opened the door and the baby was seat-belted in. I unbelted him, grabbed him, made sure he was OK. (The mother) must have been in shock for a minute. She got out, ran over, jumped over on the truck, tried to pull the baby out through the sunroof because she was screaming, 'My baby,'" witness Bobbie-Jo Allen said.

Five adults and two children were taken to the hospital. The extent of their injuries is not known, but the driver of the Ford was the most seriously injured.

"The two children who were in the red car are ages 2 and 3. The 2-year-old was more severely hurt than the other one. It sounds, from everything we are getting from the hospital, that he is going to be OK," Lowell police Lt. Tim Crowley said.

"The little boy is fine. The other one had big gashes on his forehead and he was crying, and in shock as well. It was very scary," Allen said.

Dracut police said the pickup truck was involved in a hit-and-run crash in that town just three minutes before the Lowell crash. Police said the other driver in that crash reported the truck's license plate. No injuries were reported in that crash.

"I think it is extremely lucky because you see the cars, you see the pictures of it -- if either one of those cars was a foot in either direction, you know, we'd have a more serious thing to deal with right now," Crowley said.

The names of the victims have not been released. Crowley said it was too early into the investigation to say of charges would be filed.