RICHMOND, Texas -- A mother was injured Monday morning when she threw herself in front of her son to protect him from an oncoming vehicle as they walked to summer school, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Investigators said Monica Olvera, 23, and her 7-year-old son, Julian, were waiting to cross the street at T.L. Pink Elementary School in the 1000 block of Collins Road shortly before 10 a.m. when the accident happened.

Police said David Cantu was in his Jeep Cherokee driving his child to summer school when he lost control of the vehicle, hitting the mother and son. The Jeep then hit two parked cars.

Police said the mother's split-second decision to throw herself between her child and an oncoming vehicle saved his life.

"I think motherly instinct took over for the mother and she was (taken by LifeFlight) to Hermann Hospital," said Sgt. Lowell Neinast with the Richmond Police Department. "She took the brunt of the blow and I think when she got hit, she probably jumped in front of her son to protect him."

The Jeep's driver and daughter were not inured.

Monica Olvera is listed in fair condition after surgery. Julian Olvera was not injured.

Cantu may have been speeding, according to investigators.

The area is dangerous, parents said. There's no sidewalk and only a ditch on the side of the road.

"There's been a lot of accidents like that. When you cross the street, some people don't stop, they just come," mother Carla Alvarez said.

The accident is under investigation.

No charges have yet been filed.