12-year-old re-learning how to walk nearly 2 months after crash involving suspect who ran red light
HOLIDAY, Fla. - A 12-year-old girl who suffered traumatic injuries in a St. Petersburg crash back in April is out of the hospital and back home with her family. But, she's now re-learning how to walk again.
Back on April 15, Ken'nylah McGirt was headed to her dad's house in St. Pete with his girlfriend when police said 19-year-old Ajaye Morrer led officers on a chase. He ran a red light and crashed into the minivan they were in.
"It's any parent's worst nightmare to walk in and see their child on a ventilator," Ken'nylah's mom Darriel Walker said.
Pictured: Ajaye Morrer.
Ken'nylah was left in critical condition with a traumatic brain injury after the crash.
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"There were a million and one things going through my mind, most of all, the only thing that was really going through my mind then and there was me seeing my baby and I just wanted to be with her," Walker said.
Pictured: Ken'nylah McGirt in the hospital after the crash.
Walker said her daughter's injuries resulted in her needing a feeding tube. Ken'nylah also suffers from short-term memory loss and is currently in the process of using a walker to re-learn how to walk.
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Pictured: Ken'nylah McGirt, 12, with her mom, Darriel Walker.
"He turned her whole life around in a matter of seconds just off of being careless and doing something stupid," Walker said. "You could have just pulled over and dealt with the police. Instead, you messed up a whole 12-year-old's life. I'm hurt, angry, so many emotions."
Morrer was charged with leaving the scene of a crash causing serious bodily injury among other charges. The woman driving Ken'nylah, 25-year-old Shavaria Brown, was charged with child neglect for not securing the girl's seatbelt.
Pictured: Shavaria Brown.
Walker said she's just thankful Ken'nylah is back home.
"She's just ready to do everything by herself. She just wants her life to go back to normal," Walker said.
Neither of the drivers involved in the crash were insured, so Walker said she's been left with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills not covered by insurance. She had to take a leave of absence from her job to be Ken'nylah's caregiver. She's currently raising money online to help off set the medical costs.
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