NINEPIPES — A two-car, head-on collision on Hwy. 93 just south of Ronan sent a mother and four children to the hospital on Saturday night.

At around 7:20 p.m., a woman driving her SUV in the southbound lane attempted to take a left onto Eagle Pass Trail, about six miles south of Ronan. A man driving a Dodge pickup was travelling in the northbound lane and struck the SUV. The mother was able to get her four children out of the vehicle before it went up in flames. None of the passengers in the SUV were wearing seatbelts and none of the children, ages 2, 4, 9 and 10, were in child car seats.

According to trooper Shad Andersen, the investigating officer, the mother told him that she had taken the car seats out of the vehicle to clean the SUV, but hadn’t put them back in yet.

It’s not believed that alcohol was a factor in the crash, however, the mother was apparently distracted by her children when making the turn.

The mother and her 4-year-old daughter were flown out of St. Luke Community Healthcare Center in Ronan, with the mother sustaining a fractured neck, broken ribs, a broken ankle and a laceration to one of her legs. The 4-year-old daughter suffered facial lacerations in the accident, while a 2-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl received no injuries.

Andersen said he saw the 10-year-old daughter in the hospital with a brace on her left wrist, but did not know the extent of her injuries.

“The injuries would have likely been less to the kids if they were in their proper seats,” Andersen said.

The driver of the pickup was treated for an injury to his knee and released that night.

Andersen wants people to be on extra alert at this time of season and take all precautions to help avoid similar accidents.

“I just want to remind people to buckle up and stay safe, especially at this time of year,” Andersen said.