After surviving a car crash with her father, a 7-year-old girl from Detroit was killed while looking for help.
DeSandra Thomas was looking for help as she got out of her father’s car after they had crashed. She was struck by another car on the freeway while sending a text to police.
The 7-year-old’s father swerved off the I-94 in Detroit and crashed into an abandoned car. The man was said to be driving under the influence when it happened. Thinking her father had died, DeSandra got his phone and called 911.
The dispatcher was trying to keep her at a safe spot until emergency responders got there. But, DeSandra was struck by a car as she was crossing the road. The 7-year-old was killed instantly.
The little girl’s body was located 50 to 150 feet away from her father’s car.
Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw said, “So here’s a poor 7-year-old child that won’t get her life back. Her father was involved in that crash who lost his daughter. Her mom whose been notified has lost her child. And there’s somebody that’s going to drive around the rest of their life knowing that they were involved in a traffic crash that killed a 7-year-old girl.”
Her father is still in the hospital being treated for head trauma.
Her mother Sandria Burts said she had tried to have children for 20 years before getting pregnant with DeSandra. When she learned of what happened, she was devastated and heartbroken. She was at work when she got a call that her daughter had died trying to help her ex-husband.
“It’s straight emptiness. We are in shock but I know God is good and he is the only one that’s going to be able to bring me and my family through this,” Sandria said.
Her family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with her funeral arrangements. Sandria’s husband, Anthony Burts called her a hero in the post.
“At such a tender age she was selfless. She didn’t care about herself, she was racing against time to save her father as anyone with a heart of gold would have,” he wrote. “Fly high baby girl.”