Two children were taken to the hospital with serious injuries after they were hit by a vehicle while crossing the street Friday afternoon in Peabody, Massachusetts, police said.
The kids were with their mom when all three were struck in the area of 106 Lynn Street near County Street, according to Peabody police.
The children were taken to Mass General for treatment, and their mom later posted on social media that her two girls are expected to be OK. She did not say if she was injured in the collision.
Surveillance video shows the mom and her two daughters crossing the road on Lynn Street, just before the little girls got hit by the SUV. The mom wrote in a Facebook post that the trio was crossing the street to get dry cleaning when "the lady went around traffic driving about 40 miles per hour."
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The girls' mother, who is an emergency room nurse, spoke to NBC10 Boston by phone while at the hospital later Friday night and said while the girls should be OK, they will never be the same.
The children's grandmother, who also spoke to NBC10 Boston, said her granddaughters have some stitches and broken bones and will have to stay at the hospital overnight, but the family is very relieved this situation wasn't any worse.
Maryann Andre says her 8-year-old granddaughter has a broken leg. Her husband added that the 5-year-old lost consciousness for a couple minutes but was later in good spirits.
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A witness told NBC10 Boston that he came outside after he heard the crash and saw the two young children lying in the road.
"I looked out my window because I'm on the second floor. I saw one little girl lying in the middle of the street with her mother on top of her," said Peter Zorzonello, who called 911 after hearing the impact. "I was kind of relieved when you came down and saw the second girl moving and talking, and the first girl once she started to regain consciousness."
According to police, the driver -- identified as Ovidia Lopez-Esteban, of Lynn -- was taken into custody at the scene for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.
After consulting with the district attorney's office, Peabody police said on Twitter that charges against the driver will be upgraded. It was not immediately clear what other charges Lopez-Esteban may face.
Following the pedestrian crash, police had asked people to avoid the area. Aerial footage showed a stretch of street taped off by police, and Lynn Street was closed during the investigation.
Peabody police, the Peabody Fire Department, Massachusetts State Police and Atlantic Ambulance all responded to the crash Friday. An investigation is ongoing.
