As a 6-year-old girl lay on the ground following a crash that killed her mother in Los Angeles’ Mid-Wilshire area, a neighbor ran out and held the critically injured child, comforting her before paramedics arrived.
The woman, who wished only to be identified as Cassandra, said she heard screams and immediately went outside. When she saw the girl alone on the ground, she thought she was dead and put her head next to hers.
“When I put my head to hers, all I could say was, ‘Baby girl, you are not alone. I’m here, baby. Hear my voice,” Cassandra said.
That’s when she heard the girl moan. Cassandra yelled for someone to call 911 as she stayed with the first grader. Cassandra knew the mother was dead; her body was motionless on the sidewalk, several dozen feet from the crosswalk where she was hit as she walked her daughter to school.
“I want the family, if anyone is listening, to know that in those moments, she was not alone. She was not alone. I did not let go of her hand,” Cassandra said.
The crash was reported in the 6000 block of Colgate Avenue near Hancock Park Elementary School. Los Angeles police responded to the scene at about 8 a.m. Tuesday.
The pickup struck the woman in her 30s and the girl, who were walking near a curve in the road, before it collided with the two-story apartment.
The pickup driver, identified only as a man in his 30s, was hospitalized with moderate injuries. Police said he was speeding, and they’re investigating whether he was also under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The 6-year-old, meanwhile, remains hospitalized in critical condition. Cassandra said she’s praying the girl pulls through.
“She changed my life and I don’t know her name, and all I want to know is if she is OK,” she said.
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