A little girl and her mother were hospitalized Wednesday morning after being struck by a car while waiting for the school bus outside their home in Brockton, Massachusetts.
The driver, a 35-year-old Brockton woman, was cited for driving without a license and a marked lanes violation.
The crash happened on Colonel Bell Drive where witnesses said a woman appeared to be trying to reverse when her car suddenly shot forward.
A 6-year-old girl and her mother who were outside waiting for the school bus were struck and pinned underneath the car, according to family members.
Both were conscious and alert when first responders arrived to take them to an area hospital.
Lisha Prince said the whole ordeal was frightening for her niece who was struck.
"Neyla is a really tiny, tiny little girl and for her to be pinned underneath a car and I know that when she was here, my brother was telling me that she was telling the ambulance driver that she was sleepy," said Prince.
Relatives of the little girl said she has a fractured rib and a punctured lung. She will undergo surgery Thursday at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The mother, Stephanie Prince, told NBC Boston she is on painkillers. She said she has internal bruising and swelling in both legs.
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She added that she is thankful she and her daughter are alive but regrets leaving for the bus stop a few minutes early.
The woman's husband, who would not give his name, said his wife meant to step on the brakes and hit the gas pedal instead.
He also said his wife met the qualifications for a driver's license but had yet to receive one.
The driver will appear in Brockton District Court at a later date.
