An 8-year-old girl is out of the hospital with extensive injuries after she and her grandmother were struck by a vehicle as they were walking in Mesa.
Just before 8 a.m. Saturday, May 19, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office responded to an accident in the area of Ellsworth and Broadway roads.
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According to officials, an SUV was heading south on Ellsworth Road when it collided with another SUV turning left onto Broadway Road from Ellsworth Road.
On Tuesday, Kelly Kehinde, the woman who was hit, told ABC15 she and her granddaughter, Sadie, were waiting to cross the street when two vehicles collided, sending one of them up on the curb.
"The next thing I remember, I was laying face first on the ground and I started to wake up and my head was just spinning and I heard my daughter screaming, 'Mom answer me,'" Kehinde said. "I can remember asking, 'Where's Sadie?"
Kehinde says she has a torn rotator cuff and significant bruises, but her granddaughter was thrown well down the block and suffered extensive injuries. She told ABC15 Sadie has broken bones up and down her body, among other injuries.
Sadie is now out of the hospital. Her family told ABC15 she isn't walking, yet, and is still recovering.
"We are very lucky that this is all that happened," said Sadie's mother, Nichole Nesbitt.
Nesbitt was just a few feet away when both her daughter and her mother were hit by the vehicle. She says, fortunately, the injuries aren't worse than they are.
"Just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Nesbitt said. "There's nobody to blame."
Since the crash, complete strangers have sent Sadie rocks in the mail. Sadie collects painted rocks, which she calls 'magic' rocks. The family told ABC15 they have received rocks from as far away as France.
"You think the world is such a bad place, but it's really not," Nesbitt said. "When you step back and take a look there's really still a lot of good people left."
While Sadie has many doctors visits ahead, she is expected to make a full recovery. The family is grateful for the outpouring of support.
The family started a GoFundMe page to help cover costs. Those who wish to contribute can do so here.
"Life can change in a minute," Kehinde said. "Just hug your loved ones every time you leave them."
An investigation is ongoing and speed and alcohol did not immediately appear to be factors in the accident, authorities said.
