LAKE CITY, Fla. – The family of a 9-year-old who was hit by a car while walking to get on her school bus in Lake City is feeling overwhelming support after the life-changing accident.
Aubrielle Jenkins left the Gainesville hospital in a wheelchair on Tuesday after spending nearly a week under medical care.
“Her life has completely changed. Our lives have completely changed. I can’t work, she can’t go to school, so I’m taking my baby home in a wheelchair,” Aubrielle’s mother, Tiara Thomas, said.
Jenkins‘ and Thomas’ lives will never be the same after last Thursday.
Thomas said her daughter is like any other 9-year-old child.
“She loves to talk. She’s always happy. She loves to make friends. She’s just like any other 9-year-old, just a kid living their life. You know, every day you always see her smiling,” Thomas said.
Jenkins injured her ankle and head in the accident. Her mother said her daughter is still in the process of healing both mentally and physically.
“She’s aware of what happened, but she’s having her moments. But for the most part, she’s strong and she’s getting back to her normal self,” Thomas said.
Thomas was sitting in the car when she witnessed the incident.
“I’m having a hard time getting those images out of my head,” Thomas said. “It’s like they are steadily popping up no matter what I’m doing, who I’m talking to, I’m seeing them.”
She said the bus driver performed CPR to help revive Jenkins after she was hit.
“We are blessed. For me to have been right there, for him to be able to jump into action like he did, and all of the civilians that came and helped us out, we are lucky, very blessed to still have her with us.”
Although Jenkins was released, she still needs round-the-clock care until she fully recovers.
Her mother started a GoFundMe to help cover expenses and as of Tuesday night, the fundraiser had surpassed its $5,000 goal by more than $2,000.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported that a car was traveling north on Southwest Birely Avenue when a pedestrian “entered the roadway” and the driver hit the pedestrian.
The parents of the driver involved in the incident sent News4JAX a statement, saying in part, “First let me say our family and our daughter are very sorry that this happened and wish the little girl a fast recovery.... Our daughter is deeply sorry that all this happened and is devastated. But the way social media is portraying this whole event as our daughter is this horrible person who was speeding while not paying attention to a bus that was stopped with red lights on and a child already in the road is not the truth.”
The family also sent the traffic citation that the driver received. It was listed as the following: (SPECIAL HAZARD) FAILED TO USE DUE CARE, FAILED TO USE DUE CARE WHEN APPROACHING STOPPING SCHOOL BUS. STRUCK PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ROADWAY.
The citation notes that the infraction does not require a court appearance.
For Thomas, their family is taking things one day at a time.
“That’s all that we can do. We’re just taking it day by day and handling whatever it is that we need to handle,” Thomas said. We don’t know what the future’s looking like. We’re just praying that it’s good."
News4JAX reached out to FHP and the Columbia County School District to learn more about the crash.