It was supposed to be a celebration. It takes place every year outside the St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Goshen. This year it ended abruptly when a car plowed through a 50 person procession, Wednesday at 5 in the morning.
Wanda Cummings saw it all happen, "It sounded terrible…a big boom, smashed and people screaming and hollering saying we need ambulances."
She wasn't in the group but she lives down the street. She says the car stopped on top of a woman.
"They had to reverse the car back to get it off of the woman," Cummings added, "There was a man over here, his head was all bleeding, there was a child in a stroller, the stroller was smashed."
5 people ended up in the hospital. A 3-year-old girl suffered minor injuries and a teenager suffered major injuries. The driver stopped and told officers he didn't see the people.
Patsy Pena also lives down the street. She says the street is dangerous because it doesn't have lights. "Even when I'm turning right there, I'm afraid I'm gonna hit somebody because it's really really super dark," she said.
The people were worshiping at the time, celebrating "Our Lady Guadalupe," in the dark. Officers say the group was in the middle of the street, without flashlights or traffic control.
Cummings said, "Yes the street is dark but they had candles...a car before that car seen that and they flipped around…this car came and never even let off it's brakes."
The driver, Sean Hill is 21. Officers say he hit the people at 35 mph. They say he wasn't under the influence and he wasn't arrested.
A person with the church says the victims are recovering and will be OK.
TXT 24
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