19/12/2025
It was supposed to be a normal walk to the bus stop. Two 12-year-old girls, Ziyah Sawyer and her best friend Elizah, stepped outside for school like they had done countless times before.
Minutes later, everything changed.
A truck struck them as they walked together, leaving both girls critically injured and fighting for their lives. What began as an ordinary morning ended in sirens, hospital rooms, and families plunged into fear they never imagined.
Ziyah suffered multiple fractures, a concussion, and a severe spleen injury that required emergency surgery and a blood transfusion. She remembers nothing — not leaving the house, not the impact, not the moment her childhood was shattered. Elizah was also badly hurt, with serious injuries to her hip, shoulder, and spleen. Both girls were rushed into intensive care.
The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with police. No charges have been filed as the investigation continues. For the families, the legal process feels distant compared to the reality they’re living now — long days in the ICU, uncertain recoveries, and mounting medical costs.
Instead of preparing for school and the holidays, both families are learning how to navigate surgeries, rehabilitation, and trauma no child should endure. Friends, neighbors, and community members have stepped in to help, organizing support and praying for the girls’ recovery.
Their parents say the pain is unbearable — but so is the hope. Hope that their daughters will survive. Hope that they will heal. And hope that this story becomes a warning before another family has to live it.