One child was killed and three others badly injured in a serious car crash in Deerfield Beach Thursday, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. in the area of W. Hillsboro Boulevard and Northwest 2nd Avenue and involved a car and a pickup truck, Broward Sheriff's Office officials said.
"I was in the body shop on the other side and I heard the impact like a loud crash," a witness said.
Rush hour stalled while investigators and traffic homicide detectives tried to figure out how a black Ford Ranger slammed into a white Nissan Maxima.
"I'm a mother of four myself. So just seeing the kids lying down there, I'm still shaken up as you can see just from seeing that," said witness, Phedra Wiggins.
The Nissan's passenger side was left crushed and a tire smashed. The children, an 11-year-old, two 6-year-olds and a 4-year-old were all rushed from the scene in critical condition.
One airlifted, all admitted at Broward Health Medical Center as trauma alerts. One of the 6-year-olds, a girl, later died from her injuries. It appears that at least some of the children were not properly restrained, officials said.
Their mother was injured on the scene as well, but was more concerned about the children than herself.
"Hysterical you know, they was trying to see if she was okay, but she was worried about her kids which I can understand," said Wiggins.
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The driver of the Ford and his passenger stayed on the scene and were interviewed by police.
They were visibly shaken and did not want to talk about the violent accident but others who saw the aftermath found the whole scene disturbing.
"Kind of bad, I don't know what to say because I'm not sure, but just from looking at them laying on the ground... accidents happen that's the best I can say and we can just say a prayer for them, the mother and the kids," Wiggins said.
Investigators are still trying to determine who was at fault in the crash.
