Solange Tremblay’s daughter said her mother “had a guardian angel watching over her” after the crash

Solange Tremblay, the Air Canada flight attendant ejected from her seat during a March 22 crash at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.Credit : Courtesy of Sarah Lépine

A flight attendant who survived being ejected from a passenger plane that crashed into a firetruck at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport has been identified.

In an interview with Quebec’s TVA News, Solange Tremblay’s daughter, Sarah Lépine, said her mother suffered multiple bone fractures and has been hospitalized for a broken leg after being ejected than 320 feet from the plane. She also said that her mother had been strapped into her seat behind the pilots at the time of the crash.

“It’s a complete miracle. At the moment of impact, her seat was ejected more than 100 meters from the plane. They found her and she was still strapped into her seat,” Lépine told TVA News. “She had a guardian angel watching over her. It could have been much worse.”

According to Lépine, Tremblay will undergo surgery at the hospital.

Solange Tremblay, the Air Canada flight attendant ejected from her seat during the March 22 crash at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.Courtesy of Sarah Lépine

A pilot and co-pilot died, and more than 40 people were injured, after a Jazz Aviation flight operated on behalf of Air Canada hit a Port Authority vehicle at the airport on Sunday, March 22.

Sources told NBC affiliate WNBC that the flight attendant was in the jump seat at the front of the plane — and following the crash, she was found strapped in her seat that had been ejected from the aircraft, according to the outlet and CNN.

“Emergency response protocols were immediately activated,” the airport stated, while confirming that it will remain “closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation.”

The crash occurred when the Air Canada flight was landing on runway four and struck an aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle that was “responding to a separate incident,” according to LaGuardia, which temporarily closed in the aftermath of the collision.

According to CBS News and ABC affiliate WABC-TV, the truck was responding to a report of an odor in the cabin of a United Airlines flight.

An audio recording indicated that air traffic control initially gave the truck permission to cross the runway to reach the United plane, before one controller began shouting, “Stop, stop, stop, stop. Truck 1, stop, stop, stop.”

It remains unclear how the truck responded before the collision.

There were 72 passengers and four crew members on board Flight 8646 from Montreal to LaGuardia.

“The pilot and co-pilot of the Jazz Aviation flight were pronounced deceased,” a Port Authority spokesperson confirmed in a previous statement to PEOPLE. “Additionally, 41 people were transported to the hospital, 39 people on the aircraft and two ARFF officers.”

Dozens of people were initially sent to the hospital, including two people from the truck, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Most of them have since been released.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Jazz employees, and our deepest condolences go out to the entire Jazz community and their families,” Air Canada said in a statement on Monday. “Air Canada cannot confirm the exact number of injuries or if there are other fatalities at this time.”

An investigation by the FAA is ongoing.