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Video Shows Hit-And-Run Driver Slam Into 9-Year-Old Georgia Girl Playing In Yard

LaDerihanna Holmes miraculously survived, but suffered a fractured skull, broken pelvic bone and leaking heart valve.

The family of a 9-year-old girl who was badly injured when a car hit her in her own front yard released video of the incident hoping it will help the public identify the driver.

On Friday, security cameras recorded 9-year-old LaDerihanna Holmes playing with a friend in the front yard of her house in Lithonia, Georgia. In the video, a black sedan is seen hitting a stop sign on the corner before speeding across the yard. Although Holmes attempted to get out of the way, she was plowed over by the car, which eventually drove into her parent’s house.  

At the time of the hit-and-run, LaDerihanna’s parents were upstairs in their house. LaDerihanna's mother, Charlette Bolton, told TIME the crash sounded like a deafening earthquake.

Bolton immediately ran outside, where she found her daughter lying motionless on the ground. The mother said LaDerihanna’s 12-year-old brother and a bystander began performing CPR until Bolton felt a heartbeat.

LaDerihanna's father, Derryl Holmes, then drove his daughter to the hospital, “keeping his hand on her heart to make sure she was breathing and that her heart was still beating,” Bolton told TIME.

Although the child survived the hit, her skull was fractured and her pelvic bone was broken in three places. She also experienced leakage from the right valve of her heart among other injuries.

“She’s so tiny. She’s only 45 to 50 pounds,” Bolton told TIME. “I just don’t know how she made it.”

Although the car remained in the yard after the crash, the driver and a passenger in the vehicle fled on foot before police could arrive.

On Tuesday, DeKalb County police announced they identified the driver who they believe struck LaDerihanna. Although the unnamed “male suspect” has not been arrested, he faces charges of hit-and-run, failure to maintain lane, a stop sign violation, serious injury by vehicle and reckless driving, the police department said in a statement, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Though she suffered severe injuries, LaDerihanna remains in high spirits, and was moved out of the intensive care unit. LaDerihanna, who is a cheerleader and tumbler, has been laughing and smiling from her hospital bed. While it may take a while for her to fully recover, doctors believe she should be moving normally and tumbling after weeks of physical therapy.  

A GoFundMe account was started for her Sunday to help pay for LaDerihanna’s medical costs.

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