Local News

LEROY, Ind. (CBS) ― The lives of two families were forever impacted Thursday night after a Southwest Airlines jetliner crashed through a wall at Midway Airport and landed on Central Avenue. The jet crashed on top of two cars, killing a six-year-old boy and injuring seven others.

In one car, it was one of those simple trips that kids love. Six-year-old Joshua Woods was in his family's car eating the meal from McDonald's his dad just bought him, singing along to Bruce Springsteen's version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," on his way to visit his grandparents.

Then, in an instant, the car was filling with noise, a deafening roar that just got louder and louder as a jetliner skidded off a runway at Midway International Airport and entered a busy street. The Southwest Airlines plane crashed on top of the car, killing the 6-year-old boy and injuring at least 10 other people.

"His father looked out and saw a turbine engine turning right outside his window," Ronald Stearney Jr., the attorney for the family, said Friday.

Woods' mother and two younger brothers also were in the car. The other boys, ages 4 and 1, suffered only cuts and bruises. Their mother has "left the hospital against medical advice" because she was worried about her surviving sons, said Ronald Stearney Sr., who is also an attorney for the family. The boys' father remained hospitalized Friday with injuries to his face, neck and back.

Joshua's friends, like his neighbor Nathan, are struggling to come to grips with the loss.

"You know a freak accident like that, it's really got me pretty shaken up right now," said family friend Terry West.

CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reported from his hometown in Leroy, Indiana.

"I'm still at a loss for words. I'm still not accepting what happened," said Joshua's uncle, Steve Peters.

He visited the child's home in Leroy Friday to pick up some clothing and supplies for Joshua's family.

"We're going through a traumatic experience right now with the loss of my nephew," he said.

A second car was also trapped underneath the plane's nose. In this car, Moises Galindo, his pregnant wife Lorena and their 6-year-old daughter were barely able to escape but still suffered injuries that required their hospitalization.

Attorney Roger Malavia spoke with the family Friday night for the first time.

"I think the most telling thing is his description that the sky was falling upon him," he said.

The family's attorney also said the little girl quivers and is horrified every time a plane flies overhead. The family lives next the airport and are trying to find a new place to move.

Mahdi Abdelqader watched Thursday night's accident scene unfold from the cab of his tow truck.

"I thought, 'Is it real or just a game?"' Abdelqader said. "I just couldn't believe my eyes."

For Abdelqader, it was screams for help from the car that told him something had gone terribly wrong.

"I ran to the plane," he said.

When he got there, Abdelqader said he didn't know what to do. Then, he heard the sound of the pilot's voice from the cockpit window saying, "Oh my god," after he saw the car underneath his jet. Abdelqader then did what he has done before with distraught motorists -- but this time it was for an airline pilot.

"I was telling him, 'Don't panic,"' said the 31-year-old resident of nearby Burbank.

By this time, the accident scene was filling with people. From the plane, dozens of passengers were coming down an emergency slide the crew had inflated. Motorists and people inside nearby businesses also rushed to the scene.

Tom Fitzgerald was tending bar at a nearby pub when the plane came to a stop on Central Avenue near 55th Street.

He heard two loud booms, noise that he said sounded like a big-rig truck hitting potholes. Then the building started to vibrate and the 57-year-Fitzgerald said he knew something terrible had happened.

"We looked outside and all we could see is the Southwest Airlines tail," he said. "It was almost unbelievable. It's something you don't ever think will happen."

As the initial shock wore off, Abdelqader said a new fear took hold as the smell of fuel filled the area.

"I wanted to help them, but at the same time I was scared because I thought at any moment the plane could go up in flames," he said.

Fitzgerald said police started ordering people to leave the area because of a possible fuel leak, sending many of them into his bar where they watched the scene unfold on television.

Also watching television coverage of the accident was Pat Carnahan, principal of the elementary school in Winfield, Ind., where Joshua Woods was in kindergarten.

"We all feel a little disconnected because we watched it all last night on TV not knowing what happened," said Carnahan, the principal of Winfield Elementary School. "And today we found out that we have a connection to that."

(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)