Five Children Hurt In Crash, Not Wearing Restraints

Soddy Daisy Police have charged Christy Bowman with reckless endangerment and numerous other charges after her car crashed with six children inside.

Five of the children and two adults were hurt and went to the hospital. 

Tammy Baldivid said "it was crazy, like a madhouse."

Baldivid and her fiance came up on the crash in Soddy Daisy Saturday afternoon on Ponderosa Drive. Moments after two cars collided it was obvious several children and adults were hurt.

"And we had kids in this car, everybody out screaming, we had kids running up to me asking for me to help them." Baldivid said.

Police said the children Bowman had in her Nissan Maxima, and her adult passenger, were not buckled up or in child safety seats. They say 48-year-old Donna S. Jordan caused the crash by veering across the center line of Ponderosa Drive and hitting Bowman head-on.

"But it just goes to show you how quickly an incident can occur, five of the six children were transported to the hospital for injuries," Soddy Daisy Police Officer James Michael Brown said.

T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital's  Dr. Marvin Hall said children are particularly vulnerable in cars that crash if they are not properly restrained.

"The children themselves become projectiles, they hit whatever is inside the car or outside the car that happens to be in their trajectory or pathway," Dr. Hall said.

Four children were treated on the scene and at Children' Hospital for minor injuries whiile a fifth child may have more serious injuries to their back, according to Officer Brown.

Dr. Hall said based on his experience most of children's car crash injuries can be prevented if adults just follow the law and buckle their children up.

"And I can't tell you how disappointing it is to realize in many of those cases how very much different the situation might have been if only they would have taken an instant to make sure they were properly restrained," Dr. Hall said. 

Dr. Hall said there should be one seatbelt for each person in a vehicle and of course a child seat properly installed for each small child. If there are not enough restraints, Dr. Hall said those extra people should never ride in a car.

If you need help learning how to properly restrain children in cars, call you local police or sheriff's department or T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital Safe and Sound program at 778.6691.