An 8-year-old Georgia girl was struck and killed by a car in front of her horrified mother as she crossed the road to catch a school bus. Incredibly, she says, her mother forgave her driver.
Adalynn Pierce tried to walk across a two-lane road in Henry County to catch a bus on Thursday, but the bus had flashing red lights and an activated stop sign and was hit by Kaylee Andre, who was driving a Ford Fusion. (25 years old) tried to board the bus. He got on the bus and mowed down the girl, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
Adalynn, a student at Rock Springs Elementary School, was airlifted to Eggleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta, where she died from her injuries the next day.
The victim’s mother, Ashley Pearce, was at the scene when her daughter was mowed down. Reported to 11Alive station She reportedly forgave the driver.
“When an accident occurs, [Andre] He was always by my side,” said the grieving mother. “She was the one who called 911 for me. She just kept screaming that she was sorry.”
Pearce added that what happened Thursday was a “mistake.”
“Anyone can make the same mistakes,” she says.
Officers arrested Andre on Saturday and charged him with vehicular homicide, failure to stop to load or unload a school bus, failure to exercise due care and obstruction of driver’s view.
Asked what happened, Andre told officers that the windows were “fogged up” and he couldn’t see.
“I couldn’t see. I couldn’t see the school bus with its flashing lights or the girl,” one said. Fox 5 Atlanta cited the arrest warrant.
Residents living near the scene of the accident told media outlets that Andre’s windshield appeared to be partially frozen, impeding his visibility.
The driver made his first court appearance Monday and bail was set at $20,000.
Ms Pearce said her daughter had a kind and caring spirit that inspired her to raise money for children battling cancer.
“That was her general personality,” Georgia’s mother said. “Her heart is for the whole world. When she sees a need in the world, praying for them makes her soul very happy.”
Adeline, who was an organ donor, will help others even if she dies. Her doctors told her mother that her rare blood type would make a difference in the lives of more than 70 children who had been waiting for her miracle for years.
“All the lives she saved, this is a legacy that will live on for generations,” Pierce said. “And it’s a way for us to keep a part of Adaline alive.”
Meanwhile, families have launched a petition on Change.org asking lawmakers to pass Addy’s Law, which would prohibit children from crossing the street to board school buses.
“This won’t bring Addie back, but it will save a life so no other family will ever have to go through this again,” wrote Alexa Wright, author of the online petition.
