Photo: Layton Christian Academy
A group of high school students from Utah are being hailed as heroes after they rushed to help a woman and her two children who were struck by a car in the parking lot of Layton Christian Academy.
Bridgette Ponson was walking with her two children, ages two and three, through the parking lot when a driver struck them, pinning them underneath the car.
Ponson's three-year-old daughter was able to free herself from underneath the car.
With Ponson and her two-year-old son trapped, the school's associate pastor and CEO, Chris Crowder, gathered students to help.
"I looked across the parking lot and noticed the car, and they were screaming, and so I ran over there, and I look under the car, and I see mom and child underneath the car pinned. It was [a] split second," Crowder told KSL. "I immediately just ran into the building because I knew I had to get a lot of people to lift this car."
A group of 20-30 students rushed outside and lifted up the car enough for another bystander to free Ponson and her son.
"They picked up the car on the one side, probably 20 to 30 kids, just an inch or two enough that the Air Force gentleman was able to pull them out. The kids were heroes as well as the gentleman that was there and pulled them out," Crowder said.
Ponson and her daughter were rushed to the hospital in an ambulance while her son was airlifted to the hospital. Officials did not provide details about their injuries but said they are all expected to survive.
According to KTVX, the driver stayed at the scene and was cooperating with investigators. It is unclear if she will face charges, as the police noted that the sun may have been in her eyes as she was driving slowly through the parking lot.