Elexis Robinson’s mother is speaking out about the devastating brain injury her daughter suffered during a reckless parking lot stunt.
Tricha Linares, the mother of the 17-year-old Washington high school senior, has shared harrowing details of the Nov. 3 incident in Vancouver, Wash., where Robinson was flung from a car sunroof and fractured her skull. The teen was hanging halfway out of the top of the vehicle in a shopping center parking lot just after 8 p.m. When the driver made a sharp turn, sending her crashing head-first onto the pavement.
Robinson developed three near-fatal brain bleeds from the impact — one on the right side of her brain and two on the left — according to Linares, who revealed the extent of the injuries on a GoFundMe page created to support the family. Doctors have diagnosed the teen with a severe traumatic brain injury that will require prolonged hospitalization and extensive rehabilitation, and they will not be able to offer a prognosis on her long-term condition for six months to a year.
“As a mother, there are simply no words to describe the fear, heartbreak, and helplessness of watching your child endure something so devastating,” Linares wrote on the fundraising platform. “In a matter of moments, our entire world was turned upside down.”
The parking lot where the incident occurred showed extensive skid marks across a large section of the asphalt, evidence of what appears to be a frequent gathering spot for thrill seekers in the area, according to drone footage. Robinson was with friends at the time of the stunt, which nearly cost the teen her life.
Linares described her daughter as a talented student just two credits shy of graduation who had been on track to finish with honors. The injury has stripped Robinson of even basic cognitive functions — she now struggles to remember her own name and spends most of her days sleeping. When she is awake, her mother said, she is typically confused, emotional and disoriented.
“Elexis is so much more than this tragedy. She is an incredibly intelligent, beautiful, and kindhearted young woman who has worked so hard throughout high school and is on track to graduate with honors,” Linares wrote. “She has an entire future ahead of her, dreams waiting to be fulfilled, and so much life left to live.”
The heartbroken mother has also addressed the role of the driver, another 17-year-old girl whom Linares blames for introducing her daughter to the dangerous behavior. Rather than calling for harsh punishment, however, Linares struck a note of measured compassion for the young driver.
“This girl also made a mistake, too. This is her choice, just as much as it was my daughter’s choice to make a mistake,” Linares said. “I want her to learn the consequences of this, but she is a 17-year-old girl as well, and to have her life completely ruined and destroyed, I don’t need two lives like that. I don’t.”
The family now faces an uncertain road ahead as they wait for doctors to assess whether Robinson can recover any of her former capabilities. Linares remains resolute in her support, emphasizing the love surrounding her daughter as she fights through the early stages of her recovery.
“She is deeply loved, and we are determined to stand beside her through every step of this journey,” the mother wrote. “The daughter we love so dearly is now facing an unimaginable medical battle, and our family is desperately hoping, praying, and holding onto every bit of hope for her recovery.”
Robinson’s medical team continues to monitor her condition as she remains hospitalized, with the six-month to one-year window for prognosis still ahead.