Gaston County, NC : Head-on crash injures child, 2 adults in front of Gaston elementary school on May 2nd 2014

The crash was reported at 8:20 a.m. on Chapelwood Drive near Lewis Road, just in front of Chapel Grove Elementary School.

Rescue crews had to rescue two people who were trapped inside of the crashed vehicles.

Witnesses said they saw an 8 year-old boy in the street not moving but screaming.

"He was bleeding pretty bad from his face and head. He as pretty much covered in blood when I saw him," said Dana Brown, who called 911 after hearing the crash outside of his home, "I heard a big boom I jumped up and dialed 911, when I looked out the window and I saw the accident."

Brown, a father of three, said he believes the boy went to Chapel Grove Elementary School down the road because he saw the principal of the school trying to comfort the boy in the street. Highway patrol says the school zone speed limit is 35 miles per hour.

"The vehicle coming into the school zone had just come out of 45 mile per hour speed limit," said Trooper Donald Johnson, "There looks like there could possibly be excessive speed involved."

Brown and other neighbors said speed is an issue on Lewis Road.

"They come across this hill right here and their booking and you got other cars flying this way," said Brown.

Troopers say one of the cars crossed the line, but would not say who was responsible. Rescuers from Crowder's Mountain Fire & Rescue, The Gastonia Fire Department, and Gaston Emergency Medical Services said it took them forty minutes to get the two drivers out of the smashed cars.

Approximately 20 rescue personnel, and 12 apparatus were on the scene for approximately 90 minutes.

"I'm hoping the kid is okay," said Brown, "I know they had to use the jaws of life on both cars to get the drivers out. One of them was male one of them was female."
Troopers said while the drivers had serious to critical injuries both were conscious and speaking.

One person was rushed to Levine Children's Hospital with critical injuries. The drivers are also critically injured, one was taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, another to Caromont Regional Medical Center.

During the rescue, Lewis Road was shut down in both directions causing extensive delays in the Chapel Grove area of Gaston County.

Source :
Witness: 8-year-old among injured in crash near elementary school