RICE TOWNSHIP -- Five children and two adults were all sent to the hospital in critical condition after they were struck by a car in Luzerne County.
Investigators say they were walking down a street in Mountain Top around 1 p.m. Friday when it happened.
Aleksander Boulevard in Mountain Top was filled with emergency crews and police after a family of seven was hit by a car. All seven were taken to the hospital.
Rice Township police say the family was walking down the road when the driver, a woman in her 50s, swerved into them. Five children, including an infant, and two adults were critically hurt.
The two adults and three of the children had to be flown to hospitals; the other two were taken by ambulance.
Annette Mann is an ER doctor and the crash happened right in front of her home.
“I heard this tremendous boom and I ran from my den. I heard screaming and I knew something bad had happened,” said Mann. “I ran outside and immediately saw the gentleman in the road.”
Mann says her training as an emergency room doctor made her snap into action.
“Started triaging everybody and assess who was the one who needed my help the most and that was the infant. I managed to get her stabilized,” said Mann. “When I was able to open her airway up and she took that breath, nobody was happier than me.”
Police say the driver of the car did stop. She was taken to the Rice Township Police Department.
State police spent hours doing accident reconstruction as Rice Township police try to figure out why the driver crashed into the family.
“It was just a family and they were just taking a walk on a beautiful day,” said neighbor Jennifer Filbert.
“It was pretty much a mess. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen happen on this street,” said Patrick Colo.
The Luzerne County District Attorney's Office also assisted with the investigation. The DA says the driver is cooperating with police.
As for Dr. Mann, she doesn't see herself as a hero, just one of the many first responders who were on Aleksander Boulevard.
“I have nothing but high praise for all those people because they did an incredible job because they did an incredible job. They got everybody stabilized and out of here in minutes.”
The investigation of the crash continues.
By Friday night, hospital officials said two of the children were treated and released. The others remained hospitalized with one of the adults in serious condition. The other adult and two children are in critical condition. The remaining child is in fair condition.
