5 Children Injured When SUV Crashes Into Home In Union, New Jersey

UNION, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- An SUV slammed into a house in Union, New Jersey on Friday, injuring five children and one adult inside the vehicle.

Police said the SUV was involved in a crash with another vehicle, then swerved and went out of control, hitting to cars before slamming through the brick facade of a corner house off of Vauxhall Road at Cedar Avenue around 7:15 a.m. Friday.

The husband and wife owners of Espin Preschool next door rushed out the help the injured family out of the vehicle before calling 911.

"We just saw smoke on the car and then at that moment right there we just reacted real quick and we just took off," said good Samaritan Sergio Espinosa.

"It was a loud bang. And then I was opening the door for a parent and in that instant, we saw the smoke, we kind of jumped," said good Samaritan Sue Ann Suarez.

The driver, now identified as Joseph Cajuste, lay still and speechless.

"He was just laying on the ground sort of, you know, in shock," Espinosa said. "It was a blur... I just took them out. I wasn't even thinking. I just took them out and I laid them all in the grass."

Police said it appears the children were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from the SUV.

Espinosa said it looked like one child had a busted lip and another had a broken arm.

"You feel bad you just wanna help them, you want to reassure them that everything is gonna be OK," Suarez said. "The little boy was shaky and wanted to make sure he's fine."

Officials say the six people inside the car were all rushed to University Hospital, including the male driver and five children, ages 6 to 18, who appeared to be on their way to school.

Two are in critical condition. The other four are serious but stable.

No one in the home was injured.

The owner heard a loud boom while taking a shower and then saw the damage to her basement – a massive hole below her front window with wires protruding out.

Emergency responders arrived to the scene soon after, helping victims and securing the home's foundation. Crews had to bolster the home's foundation so it wouldn't collapse.

"On arrival, our units got here shortly thereafter and found multiple victims on the front lawn," Union Fire Department Chief Mike Scanio said. "There was a lot of screaming going on, there was some serious injuries."

"Our special operations team made entry to the house and the outside wall was compromised causing some hazards with the possible collapse of the house so they went in and shored up the house," Union Fire Department Chief Mike Scanio said.

Vauxhall Road was shut down from Stuyvesant to Barbara avenues.

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The Union County Sheriff's Department is leading the investigation to figure out what caused the crash.