"Absolute horror": 12-year-old Elk River girl hit by car outside school
ELK RIVER, Minn. -- It was supposed to be a typical Wednesday morning for 12-year-old Ellie Anderson. Take the bus to school, meet up with a friend across the street, then head in for class. Except just before 8 a.m. Oct. 4, her life was changed in an instant.
"Absolute horror. It has been nothing I would wish on any person, any parent," said Rebekah Anderson, Ellie's mom.
Ellie Anderson was hit by a driver in an SUV just one lane from the curb. An accident report notes the driver wasn't speeding or driving distracted – it's likely the two didn't see one another.
Paramedics rushed Ellie Anderson to the hospital, where she needed emergency surgery. Her brain was swollen and bleeding, and she had a fractured bone in her ear as well as a nick to her spleen.
"Watching your child in so much pain and crying....that breaks your heart," Rebekah Anderson said. "I told her 'If I could take the pain, I would. But it doesn't work that way. So we've got to figure out how to get you better."
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"It's just so hard to see your child sitting there like that," Ryan Anderson said. "You never want anything like that to happen to any child. You never want any parent to have to go through that. It's just the most scary experience I've ever had in my entire life by far."
The emergency surgery was a success, but recovery for the 12-year-old will take months. It will take speech, occupational and physical therapy. While Ellie Anderson is back at home after a week in the hospital, she needs help from her parents throughout the day.
The Andersons say they've seen an outpouring of love and support from their neighbors and community in the past ten days.
"It's just been amazing, the amount of support, and how much prayers that we've gotten," Rebekah Anderson said. "Don't take your family for granted because you never know what's going to happen. We could be sitting here telling a completely different story had things gone another way. We're just very fortunate that she's home."
While they're grateful Ellie is now recovering, the Andersons remain concerned about the stretch where she was hit – four lanes of traffic separate the school from a row of homes. The nearest crosswalk is roughly 300 feet away – and only one side of the street has a sidewalk.
"There's so many kids out there in the morning trying to get to and from school. They can't get across all that traffic unless you walk through everyone's front yard to (get to the crosswalk). There's no sidewalk for them to walk on," Rebekah Anderson said.
"Whether it's a sidewalk, or some flashing lights saying '20 MPH during a school day, slow down,' just anything right there would help," Ryan Anderson said.
An online fundraiser in support of the Anderson family is posted on GoFundme titled "Support and Prayers for Ellie" – it has currently raised more than $9,000.