It was a routine call for the Springfield Fire Company: a T-bone accident with minor injuries.
In the early afternoon of Nov. 6, six firefighters arrived at the Sproul Road entrance to the Target store at Springfield Mall and met the Blackburn family.
Mother Krista, father Kevin, 5-year-old Isaiah, and 2-year-old Aria, of Kannapolis, N.C., had been in one of the cars. As someone tended to an injury on Krista’s arm, other firefighters sat on the ground with Aria and Isaiah, trying to distract them with toys. “We talk to people every accident,” said Mike Norman, career supervisor for the Springfield Fire Company. “But this one here, it really sunk in.”