A 4-year-old girl was killed, and three other family members were injured after they were struck by a truck in a Walmart parking lot in Glendale, Arizona. The crash happened just before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the parking lot near 56th and Northern avenues.
City of Glendale spokesperson Jose Santiago says a family of five had crossed the Walmart parking lot and were walking along the sidewalk heading into the store when they were struck.
Santiago says a 68-year-old woman in a black Nissan Frontier had been backing out of a parking spot, stopped, then went forward back into the spot. When doing so, police say she hit another car, and her vehicle went up on the sidewalk, striking the family.
During the impact, officials say the 4-year-old girl, Nairah Johnson, was pinned under the truck. Santiago says the driver then hit two more cars before coming to a stop. The girl was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries but later died.
The girl’s 3-year-old brother Robert and their mother were also taken to the hospital, but their injuries were not life-threatening. The children’s grandmother was also hurt in the crash, and she was treated at the scene.
Arizona’s Family spoke to that grandmother shortly after the crash. Latonya McFowler was overcome with grief and emotion as she described her last moments with her young grandchild. “She said, ‘Grandma, I want to hold your hand while we go to the store,’ and I said OK. So we walked to the store, and that’s when the truck hit us,” McFowler said. “She just dragged my granddaughter under her truck.”
“It was pretty chaotic when all of this was taking place. There were a lot of witnesses, people jumping in trying to help this family,” Santiago said.
We asked McFowler what she would like to see happen to the driver who allegedly hit them. “I would like for her to go to jail for murder,” she said. “She killed my granddaughter and she could have killed my other granddaughter and my grandson and me,” she said, breaking down into tears. “My granddaughter is gone.”
Police say the driver remained on the scene and is being cooperative. Impairment is not believed to be a factor, but the investigation is ongoing. Santiago says she was borrowing the truck from someone else.
“We’re not sure whether or not she just wasn’t familiar with how to use that vehicle or what really played a factor,” Santiago said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up with a goal to raise $10,000 for funeral expenses.
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