12 injured after car hits curb outside school

STONEHAM, Mass. (AP) -- A car with an elderly man behind the wheel hopped the curb outside an elementary school as class was letting out Friday, pinning children and adults against a concrete wall and injuring 12 people, at least four of them seriously, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly before 3 p.m., as students from Central Elementary School in this Boston suburb were being picked up by their parents.
Police Chief Gregory O'Keefe described a chaotic scene. "At any scene like this, it's total panic -- children screaming," he said.
The name of the driver was not immediately released. O'Keefe said he did not know the relationship between the driver and the student he picked up, who was in the car at the time of the crash. He said speed, drugs or alcohol did not appear to be factors.
Injuries
Three children -- two 3-year-olds and a 5-year-old -- and a woman were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The adult and the 5-year-old were in serious condition Friday, and the two younger children were in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The hospital's chief of emergency medicine, Dr. Alasdair K. Conn, said the 5-year-old had severe leg injuries, and it was not certain that the child's legs could be saved. The woman underwent surgery with "a severe leg injury and vascular injuries."
Four others -- three adults and one child -- were taken to nearby Winchester Hospital, where they were treated in the emergency room for non-life-threatening injuries and were expected to be released, hospital spokeswoman Marit Davies said.