April 16--NORTHWOODS --A baby girl was killed and her mother badly hurt Monday morning when a driver apparently suffered from a sudden medical emergency and veered across traffic, striking them at a bus stop here, authorities said.
The Missouri Highway Patrol identified the girl killed as Alyja H. Hughes, 8 months old. Her mother, Erica Hughes, 39, and the driver, Larry T. Jones, 41, of St. Louis, were both reported to be seriously injured and were taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Hughes and Jones were listed in critical condition Tuesday morning at the hospital.
The crash happened along Natural Bridge Avenue, between Melba Place and Nelson Drive, just after 11 a.m.
The beige Buick Century was going east but crossed westbound traffic and hit the mother and daughter as they stood at a bus stop in front of the Love Discount Store, authorities said. The car also hit a sign and a mailbox before flipping over and ending up back on its tires by the time it stopped.
The patrol did not specify Jones' medical condition, but a woman at the scene, Erica Betts, who identified herself as his niece, said he is diabetic and may have had a seizure while driving to a dialysis treatment in St. Louis.
Chief Quinten Randolph of the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District said the woman's daughter was in a stroller when the car struck them. The woman was thrown into the parking lot of the discount store. The girl was thrown into a patch of grass just east of the lot.
David Smith, 35, who lives across Natural Bridge and a few houses down, said his mother told him about the crash. He said he was a former volunteer firefighter and was training to become an emergency medical technician. Smith said he performed CPR on the girl until paramedics whisked her into an ambulance, and also helped tend to Erica Hughes.
Afterward, Smith said, he went to a day care to hug and kiss his 6-month-old son, Caleb. "I just loved on him," he said. "I could have been that lady walking down the street with my child. It hurts, man, when it's a baby."
Betts, the driver's niece, also lives nearby and went to the scene after hearing sirens and getting a call from her grandmother, who saw the crash.
"When I saw his car, I couldn't believe it," she said. "I'm so sorry about the woman and her child, and I'm just so worried about my uncle."
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