Cam Lee

Birmingham City School officials are remembering a little boy who was killed when an SUV plowed into a dentist office Thursday, killing him and injuring six others.

Camlyn Lee, 6, was killed about 9:30 a.m. at Vital Smiles in Midfield. He was a kindergartner at Central Park Elementary School.

"He was a wonder child, full of life. Kind to everyone and friendly,'' said Principal Andra Walls. "He loved everyone at Central Park and everyone at Central Park loved him."

"The family has our deepest sympathy,'' Walls said in a prepared statement. "And our hearts and prayers are with them."

Walls said grief counselors will be at the school Friday to assist staff and students.

The crash happened about 9:30 a.m. at Vital Smiles on B.Y. Williams Sr. Drive, which is on the corner of strip mall at the city's busies intersection.The scene was chaotic as the surviving victims - all adults - were rushed to area hospitals.

Dozens of onlookers gathered there, as well as police officers and first responders from neighboring cities. Midfield Mayor Gary Richardson also was on site.

"Being a parent, I can only sense the kind of horrific feeling, and I can only imagine the tragedy and how it's affecting their lives,'' Richardson said. ""It was so surreal."

"Something as simple, as innocent, as going to the dentist office and all of the sudden a car comes crashing through the building,'' the mayor said. "There was no way to predict it or prevent it. It was an unfortunate tragic set of events."

The little boy was pronounced dead on the scene. "I've been policing for 27 years and I've seen just about everything you can possibly imagine,'' said Midfield police Chief Frank Belcher. "You try to give answers to the family and to the victims. You try to bring about justice if necessary, get to the bottom of it to give people answers, closure."

"I'm a parent myself,'' the chief said. "My kids are a little bit older, but I can't imagine right now."

Camlyn was at Vital Smiles with his grandmother and teen brother for a routine cleaning. Family and workers said he had just been called back when the crash happened.

Many of his family members gathered at the scene Thursday morning, visibly shaken by Camlyn's death. "He was a good child, a blessed child," said uncle Mike Eubanks. "This is God's will and God is good always."

Camlyn's teenage brother was also inside the dentist office but was not injured. His grandmother - believed to be his legal guardian - was taken to the hospital, but authorities said they weren't sure whether she had been hurt in the crash or if she was hospitalized because of her distress.

Midfield fire Chief L. Manning said initial information at the scene was that the female driver of the SUV - who wasn't injured - was trying to park but couldn't get the SUV in gear when it drove through the window.

Authorities said there were two passengers in the SUV in additional to the driver, including a 10-year-old boy. The driver was being questioned at Midfield police headquarters.

"She is inconsolable,'' Belcher said. "Just crying and sobbing."

Vital Smiles workers said there were about 50 people inside the building when the crash happened, including employees and patients.

"It was a loud boom, like a crash," said dental assistant Tiffany Jackson, who was with a patient at the time of the accident. "We were all scared."

The police chief said chaplains were sent to the hospital, and will be made available to Vital Smiles employees and family members in the coming days, as needed. Repeated efforts to obtain a comment from Vital Smiles were unsuccessful.

Belcher said the investigation is in its early stages. Evidence technicians were meticulously examining the scene and detectives were canvassing nearby businesses to see if surveillance video captured the accident.

Vital Smiles, he said, did not have security camera footage. "If anyone has video of this, please bring it forward,'' Belcher said. "That's why we're going around checking business, searching for something pointed in this direction."

The chief said he can't begin to speculate at this point whether any charges will be warranted in the crash. "We don't know if it was a vehicle malfunction or driver error. We just don't know right now,'' he said.