Mother, 7-year-old daughter in critical condition after vehicle accident in Fayette County
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - A family exclusively tells KDKA a mother and her young daughter are in critical condition, sedated, and on ventilators after a head-on crash with a dump truck in Washington Township, Fayette County, Saturday morning.
Pennsylvania State Police remain tight-lipped about the incident.
#EXCLUSIVE: Family tells me Kendalynn Hannen & her 7-yr-old daughter, Sophia, are fighting for their lives after crashing w/ a dump truck this morning on Gillespie Hollow Rd in Washington Township, Fayette Co.
— Lauren Linder (@lauren_linder) April 16, 2023
Both remain in critical condition, sedated & on ventilators@KDKA pic.twitter.com/UBL7rejfRT
Hundreds of miles away, Tina Boyd prays that her niece and great-niece will be okay.
"I don't want to lose her. I've been through everything with that girl. I can't," Boyd said. "I'm just trying to hold it together."
Boyd said Kendalynn Hannen and her seven-year-old daughter, Sophia, are fighting for their lives after crashing into a dump truck carrying an excavator on Gillespie Hollow Road.
A woman who lives off the road who didn't want to be identified said her power went out, and she heard a loud noise. She immediately knew a truck had struck the brick wall and utility pole across from her home.
"A big bang, a jolt," the woman said.
What she didn't realize was the accident involved two vehicles.
"About five minutes later and we heard a little girl screaming," the woman said.
She told KDKA the driver of the dump truck told her he was heading towards 91, and the other car was heading towards Fayette City when it suddenly veered into his lane.
While visiting her mom in Florida, Boyd got a call from Kendalynn's boyfriend.
"She just went right down the road to get cigarettes, and he knew something was wrong when she was not answering the phone, and then he heard fire trucks," Boyd said. "It all happened so fast."
Boyd said they were flown to the hospital. Sophia has injuries to her eyes and lung and a broken nose. Kendalynn needs to get an arm and a leg amputated but doctors say her body is too weak right now to do so.
#EXCLUSIVE: Family tells me Sophia has injuries to her eyes & lung, & a broken nose. Kendalynn needs to get an arm & a leg amputated but doctors say her body is too weak right now to do the surgery.
— Lauren Linder (@lauren_linder) April 16, 2023
After the crash Sophia was talking, but Kendalynn was knocked out@KDKA pic.twitter.com/F2ACXfG0j6
"I don't know what's going to happen," Boyd said.
At this time, Boyd is trying to stay positive. She said she needs them to pull through.
"That's like my sister. My parents raised Kendalynn with me growing up as a teenager, so Kendalynn's not just my niece, she's like my sister," Boyd said.
She's also making plans to get back to the Pittsburgh area as soon as possible.
"Just hoping something changes, hoping for the best," Boyd said.
The woman who heard the crash told KDKA two people were in the dump truck, and neither went to the hospital.