LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A critically injured nine-year-old is fighting toward recovery after being the sole survivor of a fatal Northeast Valley crash last Tuesday.
The driver, the 9-year-old’s mother, died in the crash, along with another adult passenger.
According to Metro Police, the crash happened near Carey Ave. and Pecos Road on Tuesday at around 7:40 p.m.
Police say speeding was a factor. The driver lost control of the car, hitting the curb, colliding with a power pole, and then being redirected back into the roadway before coming to rest.
Both women in the car died, the 9-year-old survived after being pinned in the backseat.
Her cousin, Shirlise Castille, says she lost her foot while being extracted from the car. She’s been at UMC since, undergoing several surgeries.
Castille says the nine-year-old is a fighter, and has had her father and family members by her side all along the way.
“She’s very responsive. She’s not been in a coma at all. They are keeping her comfortable for the pain, but she’s very responsive to her dad. When she hears his voice, she starts moving around and she can squeeze to let us know that she’s hearing. She’s doing so much better than you would think, just looking at the car,” Castille says.
The family is not identifying the child to protect her privacy. Castille says once she is ready, the family hopes to transfer her up to Reno where her father lives.
Castille set up a Gofundme for the family.
The Clark County Coroner identified the driver as 36-year-old Tianna Harris and the passenger as 38-year-old Latasha Patterson. Metro Police say these were the 75th and 76th traffic fatalities so far this year.
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