Earl Neikirk / Bristol Herald Courier via AP

Emergency personnel attend to the injured after a car veered into paradegoers in Damascus, Va., on Saturday, injuring dozens.

DAMASCUS, Va. -- An elderly driver plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Saturday parade in a small Virginia mountain town and investigators were looking into whether he suffered a medical emergency before the accident.

About 50 to 60 people suffered injuries ranging from critical to superficial, but no fatalities were reported. Three of the worst injured were flown by helicopter to area hospitals. Their conditions weren't immediately available.

Another 12 to 15 victims were taken to hospitals by ambulance and the rest were treated at the scene, where some paramedics and other first-responders were participating in the parade.

It happened around 2:10 p.m. during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line about a half-hour drive east of Bristol.

Damascus Police Chief Bill Nunley didn't release the driver's name or age but said he was participating in the parade and he had traversed the Appalachian Trail in the past. Multiple witnesses described him as an elderly man.

Nunley said the man's 1997 Cadillac was one of the last vehicles in the parade and the driver might have suffered an unspecified medical problem when his car accelerated to about 25 mph and struck the crowd on a two-lane bridge along the town's main road. The driver was among those taken to hospitals.

"It is under investigation and charges may be placed," Nunley said.

Witnesses said the car had a handicapped parking sticker and it went more than 100 feet before coming to a stop.

"He was hitting hikers," said Vickie Harmon, a witness from Damascus. "I saw hikers just go everywhere."

Amanda Puckett, who was watching the parade with her children, ran to the car, where she and others lifted the car off those pinned underneath.

"Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up," she said.

Keith Neumann, a hiker from South Carolina, said he was part of the group that scrambled around the car. They pushed the car backward to free a woman trapped underneath and lifted it off the ground to make sure no one else was trapped.

"There's no single heroes. We're talking about a group effort of everybody jumping in," he said.

Nunley cited quick action by police, firefighters, paramedics and hikers to tend to the victims, including a volunteer firefighter who dove into the car to turn off the ignition. The firefighter, whose name wasn't released, suffered minor injuries.

Mayor Jack McCrady encouraged people to attend the festival on Sunday, its final day.

"In 27 years of this, we've never had anything of this magnitude, and is it our job to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

McCrady said a donation fund was being set up to assist the injured, some of whom don't have medical insurance.

"We want to make sure they don't suffer any greater loss than they already have," he said. 

SEATTLE -- A suspected drunken driver slammed into a family crossing the street in a residential Seattle neighborhood, critically injuring a baby and his mother and killing his grandparents, authorities said. The grandparents had recently moved from the Midwest to be near the newborn child. 

Karina Schulte, 33, and her 10-day-old son were in critical condition Tuesday afternoon, said Liz Hunter, a spokeswoman for Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Grandparents Dennis Schulte, 66, and Judith Schulte, 68, died at the scene Monday.

Judith Schulte's sister, Susan Morton, said the retired Indiana couple were walking Monday afternoon with their daughter-in-law and the baby when they were stuck.

Karina Schulte "had the baby in a sling on the front. He just hit all four of them," said Morton, of Cottonwood, Minn., in a telephone interview.

Mark Mullan, 50, was ordered held on $2.5 million bail during a court hearing Tuesday. He is being held on investigation of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. Prosecutors have until Thursday to formally charge him.

In court documents, a Seattle police officer investigating the crash said he smelled alcohol on Mullan's breath and that Mullan showed impairment during sobriety tests. A preliminary test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08, the officer said in court documents.

No valid license
Mullan told police he was unable to see the pedestrians at an intersection in a residential neighborhood because the sun was in his eyes, according to court documents.

His license was suspended at the time of the crash, according to the documents.

"He does not have a valid license," said Brad Benfield, a spokesman with the Department of Licensing.

It was unclear Tuesday whether Mullan had legal representation. A message left with an attorney who represented him in a drunken driving case in December was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Mullan didn't answer reporters' questions as police led him away from the scene of the crash in handcuffs Monday. Police said he stopped after the crash and was cooperative. A phone number listed for Mullan was disconnected.

Morton said Karina Schulte, who is from Chile, is a pediatric nurse specialist and is dedicated to her work.

Dennis and Judith Schulte were both longtime high school teachers; she taught English and was a head guidance counselor for years, while he taught math.

They had moved to Seattle from Kokomo, Ind., in February to witness the birth of their first grandson.

They had planned to spend six months in Seattle to be near their son and his family. They were renting an apartment near the intersection where they were killed.

"They were so elated. This is their only grandchild," Morton said. "They wanted to be there when he was born. They got to hold him and be there with him for 10 days."

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A man suspected of burglarizing an antique store escaped the back of a police cruiser and then stole it, police in Texas said.

Police in the city of White Settlement said they caught 41-year-old Darren Douglas Porter burglarizing the shop in the 800 block of South Cherry Lane at about 7:20 a.m. Friday.

Officers detained Porter and cuffed him. They placed him in the back of the police car, shut the door and stepped away to talk to the store owner.

But Porter somehow got his cuffed hands in front of him and rolled down the window -- even though the back windows are not supposed to roll down.

"Unknown to us the back windows were still active so the suspect was able to hit the back window release to roll down the window and reach around and unlock the door from the outside," Lt. J.P. Bevering said. "We believe they came from the dealership with those disconnected, but they were not."

Read more from NBCDFW.com

Police said Porter tiptoed to the driver's seat, got in and took off. White Settlement police received two 911 calls about a police car that was driving erratically.

He abandoned the police car at an apartment complex off Shenandoah Road and Calmont Avenue in West Fort Worth.

Police said their chances of finding Porter are "very good."

"We know who he is. We've dealt with him previously," Bevering said. "We know his associates, so now we're in the process of contacting them and keeping an eye out for him."

Porter will face additional charges of felony theft and escape in addition to charges related to the burglary.

Bevering said the police department would check its nine other patrol cars to make sure the windows can't be rolled down. It had never happened before, he said.

A woman died after a car crashed into a pizza restaurant in Anna, Texas, Friday, while she was eating with her daughter and grandson, NBCDFW.com reported.

Anna police said a car crashed into Mama Mia's Pizzeria just before 2 p.m., after the 80-year-old driver, who was leaving a nearby beauty salon, hit the gas instead of the brake pedal as she was pulling out of parking spot.

The woman's car hit a pole and a minivan, then jumped the embankment and slammed into the restaurant, trapping three people under the car, police said.

At least four people, including the 80-year-old driver, were taken to McKinney hospitals. There was no immediate word on their conditions.

Virginia Hamlin, 82, of Anna, died at the hospital.

Grandson in shock
Her grandson, Rhett Williams, and his mother were released from the hospital late Friday night.

"I was trapped under the car under the rear right side passenger's side," Rhett Williams said.

"I've got cuts, scrapes and bruises, and my mother is the same way," he said.

He said the death of his grandmother still hasn't hit him.

"It's sinking in," he said. "I think the adrenaline and the shock is still too current."

Good Samaritans lift car to rescue woman, 2 young grandchildren trapped underneath

Long-time neighbor Diane Oxley said Hamlin just buried her husband, Frank, a week ago.

"She is just such a beautiful person, and I'm just happy that she's with Frank now," she said.

Driver not told
They were married for 64 years.

"She is where she needs to be," Oxley said. "She missed him terribly, and I know they are together."

Read more from NBCDFW.com

Relatives said Hamlin was a regular at Mama Mia's. She was eating lunch there Friday to share her late husband's obituary with the staff.

Anna police do not expect to file any charges against the 80-year-old driver who crashed into the restaurant.

As of late Friday night, investigators said they haven't even told her about the death because they didn't think she could handle it.

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About 20 Good Samaritans rushed to rescue a woman and her two toddler grandchildren when they were run over by an elderly driver in a busy section of New York Friday afternoon, authorities and witnesses said.

The 77-year-old driver was backing up on a street in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn when he hit the grandmother, identified as Elizabeth Castillo, and the toddlers, who were in strollers, according to witnesses.

The driver seemed to panic when he felt the impact and hit the gas pedal, further reversing the car up on the sidewalk and through a chain-link fence.

"You saw the carriages go straight underneath" the car, said witness Kim Miller.

Read more from NBCNewYork.com

Bystanders quickly rushed to the victims' aid and gathered around the car that had pinned Castillo and the children, 3-year-old Tyrese and 17-month-old Tashia.

"The babies were under there, so about 20 of us got together, lifted up the car and dragged everybody out," Edwin Padua said.

"Everybody's voices came out, 'Lift the car up!'" said a neighbor who gave his name as McRae. "We started proceeding to lift the car, and we got some of them out."

'I love them for doing that'
Castillo suffered a broken collarbone, and Tashia had a broken arm, according to family. Both children received cuts.

All three are in Bellevue Hospital in stable conditions.

Tashia's father, who watched video of neighbors on the bustling block rushing to help, told NBC 4 New York that he was touched by their heroism.

"I love them for doing that. I love them for doing that," he said.

The driver told police he thought he'd stepped on the brake when he was reversing. But friends of the victims were angry.

"A person has a license, he's been driving for 20 years, he should have the decency to stop," Tyrone Jackson, a family friend, said. "You should have the decency to check your car before you stick the key in the ignition."

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A mother in National City, Calif., was arrested Tuesday after leaving her baby strapped inside her car while she shopped, police said.

The baby was found by emergency personnel in an unconscious state, soaked in sweat from sitting in the direct sunlight, according to National City Police Sgt. Julian Villagomez.

Surveillance footage showed the woman left the car in the East Plaza Boulevard shopping center at about 3 p.m. for about 10 minutes while shopping at a clothing store nearby.

Police received a call from a maintenance worker, who noticed the 4-month old inside the four-door sedan.

First-responders broke into the car through the window to rescue the baby, who was unconscious. The baby was revived and taken to Rady Children's Hospital.

The baby is said to be okay.

The mother, who police identified as Starley Cristal Geart, 25, came out of the store when she saw police near her car, and told authorities that she only left for a minute.

Witnesses described her reaction as nonchalant.

"She wasn’t sad or crying or anything," one witness said. "It didn’t even bother her. I don’t know how a parent can be like that."

Highs in National City on Tuesday reached about 75 degrees, but firefighters said temperature inside the car could have gotten as high as 140 degrees.

Geart was booked into jail on child-endangerment charges. The baby's case will be handled by Child Protective Services.

Hot vehicles can quickly turn into lethal traps for children. 

Earlier this week, the three-year-old daughter of foster parents in Jackson County, W.Va., was found dead after the family forgot her inside their SUV for three hours in 87-degree weather, reported NBC affiliate WSAZ.com. Charges are expected to be filed against the parents for Sunday's incident.

Fifteen children have died so far from being left in hot cars in 2012, according to Golden Gate Weather Services, which tracks child hyperthermia fatalities. In 2011, there were 33 hot-car child deaths. 

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A California man whose car overturned on the highway last week has been found alive, but unconscious, in a wooded area near an off-ramp, a week after his family last heard from him.

Authorities found Michael Sanchez Jr., a 25-year-old San Jose resident, lying in thick bushes off the side of Highway 101 in South San Jose on Tuesday. He was unresponsive, reported NBCBayArea.com, and was taken to San Jose Regional Medical Center, where he remains hospitalized, police said. Authorities aren't releasing any additional details about his condition, but his sister, Pricilla Sanchez, told KGO-TV that he was still unconscious Wednesday night.

"Right now, Michael's on life support," she told KGO.

While Pricilla waits to see if her brother will survive, she's also waiting for answers from the police on why they didn't find him sooner.

Read Michael Sanchez's story on NBCBayArea.com

Sanchez's family last heard from him around 1 a.m. Tuesday, May 8, according to San Jose police, but didn't become concerned about his wherabouts until two days later, when he failed to show up for a funeral service for a relative. After the service, the Sanchez family called San Jose police to report him missing.

Detectives had little information to go on, until Monday, when they learned California Highway Patrol had towed an overturned tan 1991 Ford Ranger pickup early on the day of the crash on Highway 101 in South San Jose, reported The San Jose Mercury News. Witnesses told officers they saw a man climb out of the pickup and leave the area, which is next to a county park.

Authorities from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office searched for him for about an hour, California Highway Patrol Lt. Les Bishop told The Mercury News, but they came up empty-handed.

"We were looking all over for this gentleman," said CHP Lt. Les Bishop. "We not only searched the immediate area and the brush, but we checked the shoulders on the freeway, the neighborhoods and the adjacent park."

Patrol officers say they ran the registration on the truck and the address tied to it was in Visalia, nearly 200 miles away in California's Central Valley --a cold lead, reported KGO.

But this week, after learning more details about Sanchez through his missing persons report, San Jose police returned to the crash site.

Detectives hiked into the wooded area and found Sanchez "in a location where he was not visible from the roadway or to passing motorists," according to San Jose police.

It's unclear what happened to Sanchez after he got out of his overturned truck, and at what point he lost consciousness. His sister told KGO that despite the vehicle registration confusion, she doesn't understand why California Highway Patrol stopped searching.

"If they did their search, they should have found my brother's body," Pricilla Sanchez said. "If I report it, my brother missing on that Thursday, they should have traced that truck. If CHP picked up his truck on the 8th, why didn't they report, 'I found a truck, there's a person missing.' You know, why wasn't I informed?"

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