DEKALB, Patrick Sheridan watched the monster truck roll onto and over four crumpled cars, noting that the behemoth appeared to be getting close to spectators who'd gathered for an afternoon demonstration.
The 16-year-old said the driver and staff from the Thursday show's sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, even asked observers to stand back from the cordoned-off street after the truck's first few passes.
But the final pass "was like a full-out jump because he, like, floored it and it just went up and landed on the back tires and kept going," Sheridan said.
The truck veered into the crowd of about 100, injuring at least nine people - two seriously - before breaking through a wooden fence and stopping on nearby railroad tracks, officials said.
"It sounded like he couldn't get the gas off and like it kept going and going and going," Sheridan said.
DeKalb resident James Vesely described "just this sound of steel crunching."
"I ran over to see if it hit anybody's car, and I saw a woman and a little girl ... lying on the ground with dirt on them," he told The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle.
Three adults and six children from the crowd were taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb, officials said. Seven were treated and released by Thursday night.
But a mother and her 4-year-old daughter were transferred in serious condition to trauma hospitals in Rockford, said Kishwaukee hospital spokeswoman Sharon Emanuelson.
One was taken to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center and the other was sent to Rockford Memorial Hospital, said Kishwaukee nursing supervisor Jennifer Cedillo. OSF Saint Anthony spokeswoman Therese Michels confirmed that one of the victims was at the hospital's trauma center, but Rockford Memorial declined to release any information Thursday night.
At least one person also refused medical treatment at the scene, DeKalb Fire Chief Lanny Russell said. The 44-year-old truck driver did not appear to be injured in the accident, said City Manager Mark Biernacki.
The demonstration was part of a monster truck tour sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts and Russell said the city had given the local NAPA store permission to close the street for the event.
Jerry Nix, a spokesman for NAPA's parent company, Genuine Parts Co., said he could not comment on the incident. A message left at the store near the accident site after business hours Thursday was not immediately returned.
While Tobie DePauw, manager of North Central Cyclery on the block where the accident happened, didn't see the incident, he said he saw the truck performing stunts beforehand.
"It looked very precarious," he said.
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