DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa family is looking for answers after Thomasa Koch was hit by a pick-up truck on over the weekend in an incident caught on video.
"My dad called me about 11:00 or 11:30 in the morning, and I knew right away that something was wrong," said Christine Koch, whose mother is now in the ICU at MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines. "He said he had bad news. There had been an accident."
According to Christine, her mother Thomasa, who works at the Bomgaars in Algona, exited the store to collect shopping carts. As she cross the street in front of the store, a pick-up truck making a left turn hit her.
Her injuries were severe.
"Broken hips, broken legs, a collapsed lung," Christine said.
The 17-year-old driver of the truck and nearby witnesses rushed to help Thomasa. Police and paramedics arrived just a few minutes later.
"We were very fortunate that one of the people on scene was actually an ER doctor. So that was very beneficial for us," patrolman Ben Gatton with the Algona Police Department told Local 5.
Christine was first taken to a nearby hospital.
"When there there's a serious injury accident, we do what's called 'auto launch,' so we automatically have the helicopter en route, so we don't delay time," said patrolman Gatton.
Eventually, she was air lifted to MercyOne.
As for the investigation, police say the driver wasn't driving recklessly and was traveling at 5-to7 miles per hour.
"We're really looking at possibly not charging anybody, just because there really wasn't any intent that we can prove," Gatton said. "It was purely wrong place, wrong time."
Christine, however, is hoping there will be some accountability.
"Because, I mean, at this point, we don't even know if my mom's going to be able to walk again," she said.
Police plan to interview the driver again. After the investigation is finished, they'll send the case to the Kossuth County attorney for review. The county attorney will then be able to weigh in on whether or not charges should be filed.
The family is asking that anyone who may have witnessed the accident but hasn't talked to police to come forward.