Mother, 2 Children Critically Injured in Freeway Crash : Accident: Van going wrong way at reported 90 m.p.h. plows into their car. Its driver was booked for investigation of drunk driving.

A mother and her two young children were hospitalized in critical condition Thursday after a van going the wrong way at speeds of up to 90 m.p.h. slammed head-on into their car on a freeway in Cerritos, authorities said.

“It was incredible that anyone survived,” said tow-truck operator Robert Allen, who was among the first to arrive at the crash on the westbound Artesia Freeway late Wednesday.

Rebecca Carvellas, 21, was being treated at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach for two broken legs, numerous facial cuts and other injuries, authorities said. Her daughter, Rachael, 2, with fractures of the left shoulder and left leg, and son, Zachariah, 3 1/2, were being treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Authorities said the boy, who suffered severe head injuries, was in “extremely critical” condition.

The van driver, Sung Wan Choi, 36, of Westminster was also in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial after undergoing surgery to remove one of his lungs, authorities said. He was booked for investigation of felony drunk driving.

Investigators said two Torrance police officers, driving east on the freeway, followed Choi as he drove the wrong way in the westbound lanes for more than eight miles and watched helplessly as the van slammed into the Dodge Omni, which was in the fast lane just west of the San Gabriel River Freeway.

“It was one of those events where you know a tragedy is about to happen, but the van was going so fast there was nothing anyone could do about it,” California Highway Patrol Officer Dave Boyland said.

Carvellas and the children had visited friends in Upland and were on their way home to San Pedro, where she had recently moved into an apartment with her former husband, who has custody of the children.

“I knew something was wrong when Rebecca wasn’t home by midnight, but you’re never prepared for anything like this,” said Victor Carvellas, 31, who said the couple divorced six months ago but remain close.

Victor Carvellas said his former wife seemed “in good spirits and very happy to be back” when she left with the children Wednesday afternoon to visit friends she had not seen in several months.

“She’d been away, living in Sacramento, and since I had custody of the kids, we talked about it and agreed that if she wanted, she was welcome to move back and help take care of them while she got on her feet financially,” said Victor Carvellas, a free-lance photographer.

He described his ex-wife as “a very sensitive-type individual, the kind who kept a journal and wrote poetry, and even tried to dabble in song-writing. She likes love songs.”

Carvellas said his former wife had told him Tuesday that she wanted to find a part-time job as a waitress in order to earn enough money to take some college courses and eventually become a police officer.

Carvellas said he returned home late from a business appointment to find the apartment empty, and he began to worry about midnight Wednesday.

“She told me she didn’t plan to be out late, and with the kids with her I knew it wasn’t something she’d do unless something was wrong,” he said.

Authorities said the Torrance officers spotted the van about 11:30 p.m. and radioed CHP officers, while following alongside for more than eight miles.

Torrance Police Sgt. Ron Traber said that when they arrived at the crash scene, the officers jumped the center divider and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the boy.

Rescue workers were able to quickly remove the children and Choi from the wreckage.

But it took emergency crews using a hydraulic metal-cutting device nearly an hour to extricate Rebecca Carvellas from beneath the car’s mangled instrument panel, authorities said.

Authorities said the woman appeared to have been wearing a seat belt, but neither of the children were.

“You expect something like this to happen to other people, not you,” Victor Carvellas said after shuttling between the two hospitals Thursday.

“My kids have had it rough what with the divorce and all,” he said. “I guess this is just about as bad as it gets.”