EDITOR'S NOTE: The slain girl was initially described as 8 years old by the Essex County District Attorney's Office, but the office later said she was 11-year-old Taysha Rohena Silva of Peabody; her 8-year-old sister remains hospitalized with serious injuries. This story has been updated.
A child was killed Saturday in a two-car crash in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and a suspect is in custody, according to the Essex County District Attorney.
The fatal crash happened just before 6 p.m. at the intersection of Andover Street and Winthrop Avenue.
Lawrence police told NBC10 Boston that children were inside of the black car involved in the crash, and witnesses say multiple children were inside at least one of the vehicles.
The two cars involved suffered significant damage in the crash and were towed off the scene Saturday night.
There was such significant front end damage that the Jaws of Life was used to extract an occupant from one of the cars.
Witnesses described a horrific scene involving adults and children, as well as the chaotic moments before medics arrived.
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"All I heard was screeching and smack, come out, and people laying on the ground," Diane George said.
"The air bags deployed and everybody thought it was on fire because it was all puffy stuff and everything like that around... so she started running and collapsed right over there," Miguel Brito said. "All the rest couldn’t even get out even when they used the Jaws of Life on the individual here, it took them about five minutes to get that individual out of there. It just took extremely too long."
“If that was my kid, I mean I’m crying and it’s not even my kid," James Ford said. "It’s a child. That’s a kid, you know. Never should’ve happened. No, no, no. It’s a child.”
No information on the suspect was immediately available, and no updates were provided on any other injuries.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Lawrence police are being assisted in their investigation by Massachusetts State Police and the Essex County District Attorney's office.
