KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s a sight Danny Torres can’t get out of his mind.
“When they hit the side of the road, it just started tumbling,” he said. “They did about four to five tumbles up and it went up the side of the hill and then when it tumbled back, I seen (sic) children coming out of the back of the car.”
Torres was behind the Ford Explorer on Wednesday when police say a tire, possibly a re-tread, blew, causing the car to weave through traffic and roll upon hitting the shoulder.
“As the car went off the road and was flipping, I seen (sic) a car seat in the back of the vehicle bouncing… and I watched the car seat come up to the back of the window. As the back window exploded and it hit and back of the window and came back down. There was a baby in that car seat,” Torres said.
Torres was the first person on scene. He said he found the one-year-old baby in the car seat and three other children unrestrained in the back hatch area of the Explorer.
He said two other children riding in the backseat had been ejected during the crash, along with a front seat passenger Torres found under the SUV.
“I laid with her underneath the vehicle. I said some prayers.”
Prayers for the nine people, police say, were riding in the five passenger SUV.
“It was just overwhelming. The amount of people. The amount of people coming out of that car, it was overwhelming.”
Torres said the images of the children still haunt his mind, though he’s thankful everyone is OK.
“Life is precious, so please, put your children in seatbelts please.”
Police are still investigating the accident. They also say it’s too early to determine if anyone will be cited or charged in the crash.