KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nine people, including seven children, continue to recover after their Ford Explorer flipped on a busy Interstate 435 at 103rd Street on Wednesday evening.
Three of the seven children have already been released from the hospital, despite being thrown out of their SUV.
“It smelled like a firecracker when the tire was blowing out,” said 7-year-old India Paige, who was one of the children inside the Explorer when it flipped. “I fell out the window and I landed on my feet and then that’s all I remember.”
Keena Gillum, Paige’s mother, said it’s a miracle her children walked away from the crash with nothing more than a few bumps and bruises.
“India said it was liking being inside of something that kept going round and round and she was feeling really dizzy because it was spinning so many times.”
Gillum’s three children, along with four other children, were riding in the Explorer with Gillum’s cousin and friend when the family said the SUV’s tire blew out, causing it to lose control and flip off the highway.
“Both of my girls were just saying they were scared when they flew out the window.”
All seven kids, which range in ages from 1 to 7 years old, were thrown from the SUV. It’s not known if anyone had a seatbelt on, but Paige said she and three other girls were sitting in the rear-cargo area of the Explorer.
A one-year-old is also OK and was in a seatbelt, “but not the seatbelt you’re supposed to buckle in,” the girl said.
Everyone inside was taken to hospitals around the metro. Gillum said, from what she knows, everyone is expected to be OK.
“I really appreciate people’s worries, but don’t be worried. Just stay prayerful and everybody [will be] alright. The Lord got this. That’s how I feel.”
After seeing the crash video, the mother had only one reaction.
“It’s a miracle they are still here.”