5 children pulled from icy pond after car runs off road in Minnesota

(CNN) -- Five young children were pulled from a car Thursday after it plunged into an icy pond in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

The children -- ages 1 through 7 -- suffered serious injuries, according to the Minnesota State Patrol, which received a report of the car in a retention pond early in the morning.

The 1998 Pontiac Grand Am had run off the road into the water, which was about 9 feet deep where the vehicle sank.

Its driver, 23-year-old Marion Guerrido, got out of the car on her own, and suffered no apparent injuries.

Onlookers and medical personnel 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 Lt. Eric Roeske with the Minnesota State Police.

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.

Three of the five victims are children of the driver, CNN affiliate KARE reported.