Mom Charged With Mowing Down 3 Kids

Woman cried as she was led off to prison, said she was sorry about accident

By VINCE LATTANZIO

Updated 11:09 PM EST, Wed, Nov 25, 2009

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A woman who slammed into three school kids as they walked home Tuesday said she was rushing to get her daughter to the train terminal on time when the accident occured.

Dawn Snell, 42, was driving her grey Dodge Charger down Marshall Road in Upper Darby at a high rate of speed when she ran a red light at Long Avenue, Upper Darby Police said. The car then crossed into oncoming traffic and ran onto the curb, hitting a group of kids as they waited to cross the street.

Jamel Brunswick, Philmon Beyene and Tyler Lowery were all rushed to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in critical condition. The car narrowly missed two other children who were waiting at the corner.

Brunswick, 13, was hit so hard that he was knocked out of his shoes, a witness said. He was transferred from CHOP to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Wednesday in extreme critical condition with a skull fracture and other injuries.

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Dawn Snell, 42, was charged after she hit three...

Beyene, 12, was last listed in critical condition with skull and pelvis fractures as well as leg injuries. Doctors are working to save his leg, police said. 12-year old Lowery was also seriously hurt, but is expected to survive.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident," Snell said tearily as she was loaded into a police van outside Upper Darby Police Headquarters.

Authorities believe Snell tried to flee the scene of the accident, but stopped after she was unable to see out of her smashed windshield -- hitting a parked Subaru in the process. That impact was so strong, the parked car was moved 15 feet, police said.

Snell told police she was trying to get her daughter to SEPTA's 69th Street Terminal so the girl could make a legal appointment in Norristown on time, when the accident happened.

The mom was charged with Aggravated Assault, Leaving the Scene of a Crime, Reckless Driving and related offenses. Her bail was set at $1 million.

"This is a tragedy that did not have to happen," Upper Darby Police Supt. Michael Chitwood said. "Once again we see speed, we see carelessness, and we see recklessness."