KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The driver of an SUV involved in a rollover crash in which four people were ejected, including two children, has been identified. Police said 38-year-old Julie Rivera may be charged in the accident.
The two children, a two-year-old and 11-year-old, share the same last name as Rivera and were rushed to Children’s Mercy Hospital on Sunday following the accident.
“I honestly didn’t know if they were dead,” said Kimberly Brocklehurst.
Brocklehurst says she was coming off the southbound 435 ramp to Eastbound I-70 when an SUV swerved into her lane.
“They ended up hitting my passenger side, spinning me around so I was facing them,” she said.
All in slow motion, she saw the SUV roll into an embankment, glass shattering and witnessed four people ejected out of the windows.
“As soon as my car came to a stop I just got out and called 911,” Brocklehurst said.
She ran over to find four people laying in the grass about 10 feet from the SUV.
“They were covered in blood. There was glass everywhere,” she said.
An off duty EMT happened to drive by, ran over and started to help the two adults and two children.
Brocklehurst says they were loaded into ambulances. She says the children looked to be the most injured.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says no one was wearing a seat belt and the two-year-old was not in a car seat.
“After seeing this, you definitely need to have your child secure in a car seat at all times. I just hope they’re okay,” Brocklehurst said.
All four are expected to survive their injuries.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says in these instances, it is possible for adults to face charges for not putting seatbelts on children.
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