DOVER - The mother of three children struck by a car in a crosswalk is outraged that the maximum penalty against the driver only carries a $500 fine.

“It is unreal to me,” Lori Wilson said Tuesday. “All those laws with our cell phones, but because nobody died, it's OK?”

Police said Tina Conlon, 35, of 15 Spruce St., Somersworth, was text-messaging when she hit three of Lori Wilson's four children — Alyssa, 16, Zach, 14 and Caleb, 10 - Jan. 10.

The siblings were crossing Portland Street at the Rogers Street intersection around 6:48 a.m. on their way to the school bus stop. Zach Wilson said they often have to wait for cars to pass, as few stop for pedestrians, despite bright yellow signs warning drivers the crosswalk is there.

He gave his two siblings the go-ahead when he saw the road clear except for one car at least “five telephone poles away,” Lori Wilson said.

It was too late by the time they realized the driver was not paying attention.

According to Wilson, Caleb's injuries included a fractured nose, lacerations to his face, some requiring staples, and a concussion. Alyssa's injuries included a severe concussion, lacerations to her forehead, a severely bruised hip, swelling in her back and other bruising. Zach's legs were badly bruised.

Wilson said her children's first day at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital was “literally the longest day of my life.”

Conlon has been charged with negligent driving and failure to yield at a crosswalk. The negligent driving charge carries a $250-$500 fine for a first offense. The penalty for failing to yield is $59.

Dover Police Capt. Bill Breault said based on the injuries and evidence in the case, the appropriate charge is the violation-level negligent driving.

“We couldn't charge it any other way,” Breault said.

The penalty under the state's specific text-messaging and driving law carries only a $100 fine.

If the children had suffered “serious” bodily injury, Conlon could have faced a class A misdemeanor charge for vehicular assault, Breault said. If the accident had resulted in death, the charge would have been felony-level negligent homicide.

“They are lucky to be alive,” Lori Wilson said.

Zach Wilson said he would like an apology from Conlon.

“I think she should lose her license for a year or something,” Zach Wilson said. “I don't think we need people like that who just can't pay attention to drive on the street.”

All three children returned to school on Friday. Wilson said Alyssa, an honor roll junior at Dover High School, is attending classes part-time because of her injuries.

She said her oldest child aspires to be a doctor and she is concerned about possible long-term effects from the concussion.

Lori Wilson said one day after the accident, bus stops were added on Rogers Street that prevent about seven children in their neighborhood from having to cross Portland Street, where the accident occurred.

“It is too bad it took somebody nearly dying for that to happen,” Wilson said.

She said although she had always had concerns about that crossing, she had never expressed them to the school department.

No one at the Dover School Department was available to comment Tuesday.