Vehicle hits mother, injures child in Aspen Hill

ASPEN HILL, Md. - Authorities in Montgomery County say a mother lost part of her leg after she was hit by a car in Aspen Hill Tuesday afternoon.

The 28-year-old woman was getting her baby out of the car in front of her home when she was struck. A family member tells FOX 5 that the little girl, who was also injured, is only about ten months old.

The collision happened at 3:15 p.m. at Parkland Drive near Independence Street.

Police say the woman suffered a partial amputation of her leg and was airlifted by helicopter to a Baltimore trauma center, and the child suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to Children's National Medical Center. Investigators say the child was still in her car seat at the time of the crash.

The driver of the striking vehicle, a Mercedes sedan, stayed on the scene and was not injured.

Lupe Pozas, a witness of the crash, said the Mercedes was stopped at a stop sign on Independence Street when a car on the opposite side of the intersection beeped, signaling the Mercedes to go. Pozas said she heard the Mercedes' tires squeal as it rounded the corner onto Parkland Drive and the driver seemed to lose control, hitting the median and then the woman.

"Then I heard a woman screaming really loud, and that's when everybody started going to see if she was okay," said Pozas. "I think it could have been avoided. She didn't deserve to have that happen to her. She was just trying to get her child out of the car."

Montgomery County police spent several hours investigating the accident. The intersection reopened around 7 p.m.