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PREVIOUS STORY: An 8-year-old Norwood girl critically injured in a crash in Harrington Park early Wednesday has a chance to survive but with severe damage throughout her head and body, her father wrote in an emotional social media post Saturday morning.
His wife, Sarah, meanwhile, was “fully responsive and on her way to recovery,” Hans Lee wrote.
Their daughter’s injuries were “more severe and dire,” he said, adding that she’d been through 12 hours combined of surgeries.
Mother and daughter were on their way home from morning prayer when Lee said Sarah called him just before 7 a.m.
“Sarah said she got into a car accident and she is hurt bad. Please come to Old Hook Rd by Schraalenburgh Rd,” he wrote in a public Facebook post seeking prayers. “I was on my way for an interview, but I turned around and arrived.
“On my way I saw already ambulances and my heart started to sink. When I arrived, Sarah’s car had crossed the double yellow line and hit a SUV head on.”
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ORIGINAL STORY/UPDATE: An 8-year-old Norwood girl remained in critical condition Wednesday night with bleeding on the brain and severe spinal injuries after a head-on collision earlier in the day in Harrington Park.
A 2016 Honda Odyssey driven by the girl's 34-year-old mother crossed the double-yellow line on Old Hook Road and struck a westbound 2016 Toyota Highlander driven by a 74-year-old Englewood man head-on Schraalenburgh Road just before 7 a.m., Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said.
"I'm OK. Take care of them," the man told responding police officers.
More than $17,000 had been raised on a GoFundMe for Glori Lee, a third grader, and her mom Sarah, the driver of the Odyssey, as of Friday.
There apparently were no skid marks, responders told Daily Voice.
The girl was flown to Hackensack University Medical Center aboard AirMed One.
The adults were initially taken to Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood before being transferred to HUMC, responders said.
A media report that the girl was ejected from the minivan was wrong, Police Chief Albert Malouf said.
The girl was thrown from her child seat inside the vehicle, he said.
Like her, the mother remained in critical condition at HUMC Wednesday night.
The older driver sustained injuries that were considered serious but not life-threatening, the chief said.
An investigation was continuing, authorities said.
It includes an examination of the scene, of the minivan and of phone records, they said.
Old Hook Road was temporarily closed between Schraalenburgh and Bogerts Mill Road for the cleanup and investigation.
Harrington Park and Closter police, the Closter Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Squad, two Norwood ambulances, Demarest EMS, two paramedic units from Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and AirMed One from Hackensack University Medical Center were among the responders.
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