SOUTHAMPTON, N.J. (WPVI) --
One child is dead and three others hospitalized in critical
condition after being struck by a vehicle as they walked along a street in
Burlington County.It happened at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of Buddtown Road in Southampton Township.
Police say five children, all brothers and sisters believed to be between the ages of three and 18, were walking home when the incident happened.
The smallest children were being pulled in a Radio Flyer wagon.
Four were struck by the vehicle. One was not.
Neighbors Cheryl and Paul O'Neill heard the crash and came running from their home.
"We were out back and we heard a loud boom," Cheryl O'Neill told Action News. "We heard people just screaming at the top of their lungs. So we came running out and we saw them lying on the grass and in the road."
"Besides the two kids lying on the side of the street, there was a girl lying in the middle of the street. The neighbor across the street was doing chest compressions on her," Paul O'Neill said.
Three of the children were taken to Cooper University Hospital. One was taken to Virtua Hospital.
One of the children, a 3 year old, died at the hospital. The other three are in critical condition. One is said to be extremely critical.
The driver did stop at the scene and was cooperating with police.
Police said late Tuesday there appeared to be no drugs or alcohol involved, and that the driver was not speeding.
They say Buddtown Road lacks a real shoulder, and it seems the children were near the roadway at the time.
The O'Neills did the best they could to help the young children.
"They were so young," said Cheryl O'Neill. "They had their whole lives ahead of them. They were so little. This tiny little red wagon with these tiny little kids. It was very hard to see."