After Mom Hits Curb, Goes Into Pond, 3 Young Brothers Die

Unimaginable tragedy in Michigan on Thursday, when a mom driving her three sons ended up in a frozen pond—trapping the boys fatally. The unnamed 30-year-old swerved into oncoming traffic for unknown reasons before hitting a curb and rolling into the retention pond around 11am, CNN reports. She was able to escape the car, but despite what police say were frantic efforts, the brothers, ages 4, 3, and 1, were restrained in car seats and she could not free them, MLive reports. Two were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital soon after the crash, and the youngest was pronounced dead later that night.

The vehicle penetrated seven inches of ice and ended up upside-down in 3 to 4 feet of water. Officers were on the scene within three minutes, but the vehicle had been submerged about 12 minutes before the last child was freed. A police captain says rescue efforts were hampered by the fact that the ice did not completely break, WWMT reports. Police say the cause of the crash is still under investigation but there is currently no evidence the mother, who suffered minor injuries, was under the influence. Road conditions are also not believed to have been a factor. (More Michigan stories.)