A first-grader at Lowell Elementary School was critically injured in a crash during spring break, while on her way to Los Angeles, the child's mother said.
The Brainerd mother, Miryah Herron, in a telephone interview said she was driving to Los Angeles from Las Vegas with daughters Khianna Cunningham, 7, and Kaliyah Cunningham, 6, when they were involved in a personal injury crash with a semitrailer around midnight Thursday on Interstate Highway 15 near the town of Barstow, Calif.
Herron said herself and Khianna were transported by ground ambulance to be checked out, but Kaliyah was seriously injured and airlifted to the Loma Linda Children's Hospital in Loma Linda, Calif., where she currently is in stable, but critical condition in the intensive care unit.
"It happened so fast," Herron said of the crash. "I'm not sure what happened. It was dark."
Herron said she and Khianna had a lot of bruises but are OK.
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"We need all the prayers possible," Herron said for Kaliyah. "She has a breathing tube, but is not on life support. They had to remove part of her left skull to help relieve the swelling in her brain ... We are looking at long term damage. We are taking it day by day. She will have serious damage to her left side of her brain which controls language and her ability to communicate and understand other people."
Kaliyah is a first-grader and Khianna is a second-grader at Lowell.
Herron said Kaliyah loves to sing and had plans to record a song in a recording studio in LA. Herron said her daughter also loves to dance.
"Kaliyah is the sweetest little girl and has the best personality," Herron said. "She is a little diva, a girly girl and is very smart."
Herron said they were planning to visit her brother, who lives in Los Angeles.
The family set up a GoFundMe account for Kaliyah to help with medical expenses. Those interested can go to www.gofundme.com/prayers-for-kaliyah to help the family. As of Tuesday afternoon, there was $4,470 donated to the family in two days.
"This is just the most horrific ordeal," Herron said. "She is so severe and we're not sure how long we will be here (in California)."
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