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South Side Crash Leaves Four Injured Including Two Children

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Four people, including two young children, were hurt in a crash in Avalon Park that left their car wrapped around an electric pole Thursday night.

Neighbors say the knew something was wrong when their houses suddenly went dark around 7 p.m.

ComEd cut the power for safety reasons.

Firefighters say a four-year-old girl and three-year-old boy were inside when the car slammed into an electrical pole on 83rd and Dorchester around 6:30 p.m.

First responders rushed the children and two adults to the emergency room.

The female driver is in critical condition, and a man and the children are stabilized, police say.

The impact nearly split the yellow Chevrolet in half, but somehow the headlights stayed on.

The pole that was hit hung over the road an an almost 45 degree angle, prompting ComEd to turn the power off as a precaution. This affected dozens of houses.

The darkness inside and flashing lights outside drew bystanders to the scene.

"Only thing going through my mind is pray for them, brother, so all I did [was] pray for them," Sam Minor said. "They got the man out first, two kids, then the lady and the lady was wrapped around the pole. They had to rip the car apart to get them out."

Police haven't released any details about what might have led to the crash other than saying the driver lost control of the car.

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