FOXBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - A young girl is on the mend after she was one of four children taken to the hospital following a van crash at her day care in Foxboro Tuesday afternoon.
The crash happened at the Hockomock Area YMCA, with a van ending up embedded inside the facility’s child watch room.
Still shaken up on Wednesday, the mother of 7-year-old Jayla Onwuakor spoke to 7NEWS about the incident .
“I saw the van and then I saw my daughter screaming, crying and then bleeding,” Juri Love said.
Officials said the crash happened around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Police and fire officials said injuries were minor, mostly resulting from broken glass.
Though Jayla was left with cuts, her mother said she covered her face as glass sprayed across the room.
“Maybe her instincts kicked in, because otherwise her face would have been cut pretty badly,” Juri said.
Officials on Tuesday credited YMCA staff and first responders for their actions immediately after this crash.
Jayla’s family is also thankful. Still, the child was covered in bandages Wednesday and Juri said the incident has taken an emotional toll.
“She’s just traumatized,” Juri said.
“I don’t want to think about what-ifs and could-have-would-haves…” Juri continued. “As an adult, when you start to think that way, you just can’t sleep.”
Emergency crews remained on scene for several hours Tuesday evening as authorities investigated this crash and cleaned up the damage.
By Wednesday, the hole in the YMCA building was fully boarded up.
Jayla’s family said they want to keep coming back to the YMCA. Moving forward, though, they said they hope the facility’s child watch area will be moved to a more interior location.
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