Three children and their mother have been seriously injured after a car crashed into them as they walked to school in Northern Ireland.
The incident happened when the woman and her six children were walking along a rural road in the County Antrim village of Cloughmills around 8.30am on Tuesday.
Northern Ireland ambulance service (NIAS) sent four ambulances and a rapid response paramedic to the scene.
The woman is in a serious condition at the Causeway hospital in Coleraine while the children were taken to Antrim Area hospital.
The vehicle involved in the accident remains at the scene with the front window screen smashed.
A spokesman for the ambulance service said: “While on their way to school some of the group were hit by a car.
“NIAS responded to the incident with four A&E vehicles and a rapid response paramedic. An ambulance officer also attended.
“The female patient was taken to Causeway hospital in a serious condition and three children were taken to Antrim Area hospital. The condition of one of the children would be described as very serious.”
Local Democratic Unionist party councillor John Finlay described the incident as a “horrific tragedy”.
“It’s a terrible thing, and my thoughts are with the families,” he said.
Sinn Féin councillor Philip McGuigan said the local community was in shock.
He said: “This is a terrible tragedy facing the community in Cloughmills today. Many people are undoubtedly shocked by the news.
“I can say that this feeling is only amplified by the fact that it was young children walking to school with their mother who were at the centre of this accident.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and their wider circle at this time.”
