DUPONT, Wash. — A group of bystanders is being credited with helping save two young girls after investigators say their mother crashed her car on I-5 on purpose and then tried to attack them with a knife.

Janieka Ellington, 35, faces charges of attempted murder and vehicular assault. Court records indicate she may have been under the influence and was having suicidal thoughts. A judge ordered her to undergo a mental health evaluation. She is being held without bail while she waits for it.

Investigators say Ellington purposely crashed her vehicle into a concrete barrier on southbound I-5 Monday morning. As people stopped to help, they say she took out a knife and went after her daughters.

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Nathan Wilkinson was driving to work when he noticed people struggling on the ground next to the crash scene.

“In the moment, it happens so quickly,” Wilkinson said. “You just see a bunch of people wrestling and stuff and trying to understand what’s going on. I’m not sure if she screamed ’cause she’s being attacked or what was going on, and then I saw them jump on top of this person and wrestle the knife away.”

Two military service members and Sgt. Alexis McKay, a Washington National Guard combat medic, were among those who stopped to help. McKay was checking on one of the children when she heard someone screaming that the girls’ mother had a knife and was going after her teenage daughter.

“The sergeant first class that was involved was able to hold the arm in place with the assistance of the 15-year-old daughter, trying to keep it off of her stomach,” McKay said. “They were able to disarm her and then pin her to the ground while I pulled the 15-year-old away.”

“His reaction time is why we have two living children today,” she added.

Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Hytower, a 68C practical nursing specialist instructor at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, said he initially stopped after seeing the vehicle crash.

“I’m a soldier first, but then I’m a nurse second, too,” Hytower said. “I just want people to be safe. I picture people being like my family. So I want to make sure everyone gets home safe.”

Hytower said he and two other service members focused on getting the girls away from the scene before working to restrain Ellington and get the knife away from her.

“Once I saw the knife and identified it was a knife indeed, [I was] trying to isolate that knife from anyone to cause harm, and then get the individual to the ground with the help of others,” Hytower said.

He said his military training took over in the moment.

“That’s when training kicks in,” Hytower said. “That’s when everything that we do with soldiers kicks in, and it was more of a reaction than anything.”

Witnesses credit the two service members with stopping the attack and detaining Ellington until law enforcement arrived.

“I just did my part,” said Sgt. Ricardo A. Nunez, a 7th Infantry Division (Multi-domain Command-Pacific) soldier stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. “I am glad I was there to help those girls and was just in the right place at the right time. I am also very glad the other two [Soldiers] were there and that we were able to work together.”

The girls told investigators their mother had been drinking the night before and that they were on their way to a relative’s house. They said she was acting erratically and believed someone was after them before the crash.

Both girls were hospitalized with injuries but are expected to recover. Investigators are trying to reach family members in the area and out of state to help care for them.