LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- One day after a deadly crash involving a daycare van killed one person and injured over a dozen others, police say they are looking into possible mechanical failures.
An uncle of one of the children tells WDRB's Rachel Collier the front axle on the passenger side of the van broke. He didn't want to go on camera, but says his nephew was in the van, and saw that wheel completely come off before the accident.
The coroner's office says 31-year-old Tiffany Belk of Louisville was pronounced dead at U of L Hospital at 5:47 Tuesday night. The female driver of the van was in critical condition Wednesday.
Of the 14 children admitted to Kosair Tuesday evening, hospital officials say three were still in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit while four others have been released, according to a hospital spokesperson Brian Rublein.
The remaining children -- ranging in age from five months to nine years old -- are being treated for injuries described as non-life-threatening.
Parents with children at the daycare say most of them didn't get a phone call after the accident.
WDRB News visited Heavenly Angels Daycare Wednesday afternoon on Dixie Highway. Signs say the daycare is closed.
WDRB's Rachel Collier called the number listed on the building, and contacted the owner. She didn't want to comment right now, saying she wants to keep her energy focused on comforting the families involved.
Meanwhile, WDRB has requested documents from the state that would show any previous safety violations that may exist against the daycare.
Police say the van crashed into a tree on Algonquin Parkway near Wingfield Avenue around 5:15 on June 11.
The sound of the horrific crash and screams from the victims -- which witnesses say could be heard for blocks -- sent neighbors rushing into the street to help.
One man said he immediately recognized the van. Sherman King's four children attend Heavenly Angels Daycare, and he says the van had just dropped his children off at his house only 15 minutes before the crash.
Although he's glad his family is safe, King says he's praying for the victims.
"I'm just grateful my kids are fine and my prayers are with families of everybody that was on that van," King said. "I hope everybody is alright."
King says the scene of the crash was "gut-wrenching."
"When I started, the kids were coming out and I saw the blood, you know? And some of the kids were really small. And you don't know what to think -- how bad they're hurt. It's scary."
[IMAGES: Daycare van involved in fatal crash; several children injured]
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Bystanders assisted police and firefighters as they pulled the victims from the wreckage.
According to initial police reports, the driver apparently lost control of the van and hit the tree, but they do not know what caused the crash. The investigation is continuing, and police are looking into whether or not mechanical error could have been a factor in the crash.
Police were also trying to determine if all of the children were properly restrained. We'll bring you the latest results of the investigation as soon as we have them.
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Sherman King says a daycare van involved in a deadly crash had just dropped his children off before the crash.
