Crash injures mom, kids; blocks Cassat Ave. traffic

Witnesses say woman and kids crashed into power pole

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A bad crash Saturday morning on the Westside sent a mother and her 3 children to the hospital, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

It happened around 9 a.m. on Edgewood Avenue , just south of of Kingsbury Street.

State troopers said a woman crashed her car into two power poles, but someone may have run her off the road.

Troopers said Sheneka Howard was driving her Pontiac Grand Am down Edgewood when another car tried to change lanes too quickly, causing Howard to jump a curb and hit the power poles.

Lisa Cox actually heard it said it sounded like a lightning bolt struck right next to her.

Cox is one of the people who works at the car dealership across the street that ran out across Cassat Avenue after it happened.

Cox and her co-workers say they brought blankets to the three kids and their mother who were stuck inside the car. They stayed there and comforted  and cared for them until fire rescue was able to arrive.

"We just went over there and tried to give them our jackets to keep them warm," Cox said. "Because a little boy kept saying am I dying? Am I dying? And we were like no you're fine you're just bleeding. It's okay! So we went over there and covered them up."

Cox is humble about it but truth is she's one of the first people to help the family after they smashed into a pole.

She and her co-workers and friends called 911 right away, while they ran to help.

"We just called the cops and told him to get out here," Cox said. "I didn't want to touch them and you know mess anything up. But I tried to comfort them the best that I could."

Shawn Williams, who also was working nearby, said firefighters had to use the jaws of life to cut the family out of their crumpled car. Later on, a JEA crew worked to fix the poles that dangled dangerously close to falling.

Cox says Howard told her that the other driver ran her off the road.

"She kept saying that a car had ran her off the road."

Howard and her three children were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.