WATERFORD — Alcohol appears to be a factor in a crash Sunday evening that seriously injured a mother and her two young children. The crash was on Waterford Road, northwest of Fredericktown and about a mile north of Waterford.

Injured were the mother and driver of the car, Melissa Pursley, 27, Crestline; her son, Devon, 5; and daughter, Elizabeth, 3. The children were taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, where they are listed in serious condition. Melissa Pursley was taken by a Morrow County squad to Morrow County Hospital, where she was treated and released.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Pursley was driving northwest when she lost control of her GrandAm after rounding a slight right curve on wet pavement. The car slid off the left side of the road, spinning around to the left and hitting a large tree with the right rear of the car.

After hitting the tree, the car was spun completely around before coming to rest in a field. The patrol said all three were properly restrained in the vehicle. The Fredericktown Emergency Services squad took the two children to the Kokosing Construction Co. helicopter pad at Fredericktown, where a MedFlight helicopter took them to Columbus. The crash remains under investigation.