MINERSVILLE - A Minersville woman and two children were extricated from a Suzuki Forenza following a crash at 4:25 p.m. Wednesday on Seltzer Road.
Matt Bevan, an employee of The Republican-Herald, and another man whose identity was not available were the first people on the scene. They stopped to help extricate the woman driver and two children from the smoking vehicle.
According to Trooper Peter Mohn from the Schuylkill Haven state police station, the crash occurred as Ashley N. Trate, 22, of Minersville, driving the Suzuki with two young girls, ages 1 and 2 in car seats in the back seat, was traveling west on Seltzer Road and for an unknown reason crossed over the oncoming lane and struck a rock embankment off the eastbound shoulder.
The vehicle then traveled back into the lane, crossed over the westbound lane and came to rest in the westbound lane of Seltzer Road near Gallo Road.
Trate and the children were injured, Mohn said, adding he didn't know the severity of the injuries.
Trate was transported to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, for treatment. As of 9:30 p.m., the center's nursing supervisor said she was in critical condition.
Minersville police Chief Michael Combs said that borough police maintained the scene until state police arrived.
He also said that Trate was semiconscious when taken out of her vehicle, but she was able to talk to state police.
"Both the gentleman driving in front of me and myself stopped," Bevan said, adding the two young girls were in the backseat.
While he and the other man were able to get one girl out of her car seat easily, they had to use a pocket knife to cut the seat belt to get the other child out, Bevan said.
The men wanted to try to get all out quickly since the front of the car was smoking and starting to catch on fire, he said.
Once Minersville police arrived, Bevan said, Patrolman Joseph Cavanaugh extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher.
When the fire departments arrived, rescue personnel were able to get Trate out of the vehicle using the jaws of life.
The Suzuki was the only vehicle involved in the crash.