As a 6-year-old girl lay in the street after an accident that killed her mother in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood of Los Angeles, a neighbor ran outside and held the little girl, comforting her as paramedics arrived .
The woman, who wanted to be identified only as Cassandra, said she heard screams and immediately got out. When he saw the girl on the street, he thought she was dead and put her head next to his.
“When I put my head next to hers, all I could say was, ‘Honey, you’re not alone. I’m here baby. Listen to my voice,'” Cassandra shared .
At that moment, he heard the girl moan. Cassandra screamed for someone to call 911 while she stayed with the little girl. Cassandra knew her mother was dead; her body lay motionless on the sidewalk several dozen meters from the crosswalk where she was going to school with her daughter.
“I want the family, if anyone is listening, to know that in those times, she wasn’t alone. She wasn’t alone. I kept holding her hand,” Cassandra says .
The crash was reported in the 6000 block of Colgate Avenue near Hancock Park Elementary School. Los Angeles Police (LAPD) responded to the scene around 8:00 a.m.
The van struck the woman in her 30s and the daughter, who were walking near a bend in the road, before colliding with the two-story building.
The driver of the van, identified only as a man in his 30s, was hospitalized with moderate injuries. Police say he was speeding and are investigating whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Meanwhile, the girl remains hospitalized in critical condition. Cassandra said she was praying he survived.
“He changed my life and I don’t know his name. All I want to know is if he’s okay,” Cassandra said.
Click here to read this story in English.