NORTHBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - A 4-year-old girl was struck in the head by a guardrail and seriously injured when it pierced the windshield of a car that crashed in Northbridge on Tuesday, officials said.
Officers responding to Fowler Road for a report of a crash just before 11:30 a.m. found the girl and her father suffering from various injuries, according to the Northbridge Police Department.
The guardrail cut through the front and back of the car, leaving the girl’s father trapped with a serious arm laceration, Northbridge Police Lt. Timothy Labrie said. The girl was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital, where she underwent surgery Tuesday night.
“The guardrail entered the front of the vehicle and struck the front passenger in the right shoulder, breaking every bone in his right arm,” he said. “It traveled through the rear passenger compartment, struck the little girl in the head and then exited the rear window.”
Police believe the girl’s stepmother, who was driving, may have lost control when she swerved to avoid an animal in the road.
Both the girl and her father are expected to survive.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
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