MEDIC said nine people had to go to the hospital after a wreck in north Charlotte on Tuesday. Charlotte police said four of them are young children; some looked like they were younger than 4.

One of the passengers, Tuan Iang, was riding behind the driver's seat. She was taken to the hospital after the wreck and later pronounced dead due to injuries she sustained in the crash, according to police.

Police said He Kung was the driver of the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero. Iang is Kung's spouse.

Officers said nine were riding in the SUV on Sunset Road.

Speed and weather conditions appear to be factors in the crash. Police said the other eight people in the SUV had non-life-threatening injuries.

"It sounded like thunder, a big bang. My husband looked out the window and said, 'Call 911,'" said Judy Harwood.

Harwood and her husband saw an SUV mangled against a tree in their front yard. Inside, they said, were nine people, in a vehicle police said holds five.

CMPD said one of the passengers was pregnant and five others were children, four of them young.

"One of the babies, an infant, had a huge gash in his forehead," Harwood said.

Harwood said she is a grandmother, so she jumped into action doing what she could. She said she made sure one of the women had her head tilted back so she could breathe, then held all of the children to her and sang.

"Music is simple for kids, they understand it and it soothes them," Harwood said. "It was heartbreaking, they were scared. They didn't know what to do."

Police say the fire department had to take a door off the car to remove a passenger in the front seat.

CMPD said it is giving the driver six citations, one for an overcrowded vehicle, one for exceeding safe speed limit and four for children without proper restraints.

"You're talking about children who are less than 4 that can't make decisions on their own who depend on their parents or guardian to buckle them up properly, so make sure you do keep your kids buckled up safely," said CMPD Officer W.B. Rightsell.

Harwood hopes it is a reminder for all parents this new year as she thinks about the children in her front yard Tuesday.

"I hope those babies are all OK," she said.

Eyewitness News asked police what caused the crash. The officer on the scene said the driver told him his brakes wouldn't work.