Woman and 2 children struck by car on Eagle Rock Ave. on Oct. 10

Photo Courtesy of West Orange
Above is the site where a woman and her two children were struck by a vehicle on Eagle Rock Avenue on Oct. 10. According to the township, it appears the driver of the vehicle had a medical emergency, which led to the crash.

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange community was shocked to hear of a mother and her two young children being struck by a car on Eagle Rock Avenue on Thursday, Oct. 10.

At approximately 3:45 p.m., a vehicle traveling west on Eagle Rock Avenue, at the intersection with Forest Avenue, left the roadway and struck the three pedestrians at the corner, West Orange public information officer Joseph Fagan told the West Orange Chronicle.

According to Fagan, the mother and her 5-year-old both suffered minor injuries, while the 2-year-old, who had been in a stroller, was going in and out of consciousness.

“The driver may have experienced a medical episode contributing to the crash, however the investigation has reached no formal conclusions at present,” Fagan said. “All involved are OK and were treated at local hospitals for non-life threatening injuries.”

In a Facebook post on Oct. 10, the woman who was struck by the vehicle assured the community that she and her children were OK.

“The kids are fine and with their dad back home,” she wrote, explaining that she had pushed her 5-year-old daughter out of the way of the vehicle and into the grass. As a result, her daughter suffered only minor scratches. She wrote that she was unable to push the stroller away fast enough, but luckily her 2-year-old son was saved by the stroller, which shielded him from the impact. The night of the accident, she wrote that she was still at the hospital getting checked out, “but I’m OK.” 

“Thank you for the kind words I’m reading tonight while still waiting at the hospital,” she wrote.