Update: The 8-year-old has been released from the hospital, and the 15-year-old is still in critical condition but responsive at Vanderbilt according to a family member.
A mother was killed and her two sons were injured after a single-vehicle crash in Smyrna.
The crash happened around 10 p.m. Sunday on Sam Ridley Parkway.
According to Smyrna police officers, an SUV was heading west when, for unknown reasons, the driver veered across oncoming traffic and almost struck two vehicles. The vehicle eventually crashed through a fence and rolled over in the parking lot of Tristar Stonecrest Medical Center.
The mother, identified as Ashli Nicole Parker of Murfreesboro, and one of the children were thrown from the vehicle.
According to police, a doctor was walking to his car and witnessed the crash. Officers said medical personnel rushed into action to help the victims.
Parker was pronounced deceased by hospital staff.
A 15-year-old boy, who was also thrown from the SUV, was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment of life-threatening injuries. The second boy, age 8, was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center by ambulance.
A witness who was picking up her son from the hospital saw the crash and found the 8-year-old who was in shock.
Susan Hulme said, "He was standing right there, he was looking down at them."
Hulme said she ran over to console him.
Hulme said, "My heart was just in pieces for the cries of that little boy."
She scooped him up and headed for the emergency room.
Hulme said, "He said, 'Am I in a dream?' and I didn't answer him. I was just trying to move him forward and he looked up and said 'My hand is hurting,' and 'We were going to the hospital.'"
The Smyrna Police Department is looking into whether the mom suffered from a medical emergency before she crashed. They'll know more information when the autopsy is complete.
It's a long road ahead to healing for everyone who witnessed this tragedy.
Hulme said, "I am just shaken, I'm shaken because my heart is just broken for that family."
Police said none of them were wearing seat belts. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
A Go Fund me page has been created to help pay for medical bills and funeral costs.
