Updated 5:22 AM EST, Fri November 22, 2013
Police say rescue crews pulled a mother and five children from a holding pond after their vehicle slid off the highway and into the frigid water.
Two of the five children pulled from a car Thursday after it plunged into an icy pond in Minnesota have died.
Five-year-old Zenavia Rennie died, according to Lt. Eric Roeske with the Minnesota State Patrol.
Later Thursday, seven-year-old Alarious Coleman-Guerrido died, family member, Tamy Johnson told CNN affiliate KARE.
The other three children-- ranging in ages of 1 to 6 -- suffered serious injuries, according to the Minnesota State Patrol, which received a report of the car sinking in a retention pond early in the morning.
The 1998 Pontiac Grand Am, the children were traveling in, ran off the road into the water, which was about 9 feet deep.
Its driver, 23-year-old Marion Guerrido, got out of the car on her own, and suffered no apparent injuries.
Those who lived near the scene said they heard Marion Guerrido's harrowing wails for help.
"She was screaming we could not hear what she was saying," Jessica Ressler told KARE.
One neighbor said he saw a man jump in the water before emergency crews arrived and desperately tried to help Guerrido get the kids out of the car but couldn't, KARE reported
Medical personnel initially attempted to reach the vehicle. But because of the cold water, and how far the car sank, they were unable to get to the children immediately, according to Roeske.
The first child was removed some 20 minutes after the incident began; the last child was in the water for roughly 40 minutes, he said.
Authorities do not believe weather, drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash, which is under investigation.
Guerrido is the mother of three of the five victims. The others are her stepchildren, KARE reported.
"Devastating. It does not get any worse than that,"John Sedey, executive director of Odeyssey Acedemy the school that four of five children attended, told KARE "It's devastating to our staff because everybody feels so close to all of our students."
2 Children Die, 3 Seriously Injured After Car Plunges in Icy Pond in Minnesota
Linear Mode
