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TAYLORSVILLE — A mother who was hit by a car while walking her twin girls in a stroller in Taylorsville, resulting in the death of one of her daughters, checked herself out of the hospital on Wednesday.
Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray confirmed the 42-year-old mother wasn't medically released, but because she wanted to be with her surviving daughter at Primary Children’s Hospital, she felt healthy enough that she checked herself out of Intermountain Medical Center.
The 2-year-old girl remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday.
Police have not yet released the name of the child who was killed.
Tuesday afternoon, as the woman was walking her daughters in their stroller near 5095 S. 3200 West, an area close to the family’s home, they were injured in what police are calling a “horrifically tragic accident.”
A sedan driving on the road made an abrupt stop when a dog ran out in front of the driver. A pickup truck behind the sedan, however, apparently did not see that the sedan had stopped and slammed into the back of it without braking, according to police.
The impact from the collision pushed the sedan over the nearby curb and onto the sidewalk, hitting the woman and her children. The force was so great that it created a hole in the cinderblock wall adjacent to the sidewalk.
Gray said there was no sign of impairment on the part of the pickup driver. The investigation into why the driver didn’t see the stopped sedan was ongoing Wednesday. Police were also looking at speed being a possible factor in the crash. The speed limit in that area is 35 mph.
Police say the drivers of the pickup and sedan are both men in their 30s.
Tuesday night, flowers and balloons lined the sidewalk as mourners started a makeshift memorial. That memorial grew on Wednesday from people dropping off dolls and other mementos to pay their respects.
Meanwhile, neighbors of the family were joined by mourning strangers as they worked together Wednesday to tie pink ribbons on trees, signs and mailboxes along 3200 West. They remembered the child who died as happy and loving, noting many teenagers in the neighborhood have gotten to know the twins as they have helped with babysitting.
Mothers also voiced concern that others in the neighborhood could have been victim to the accident’s tragic timing, as many of them walk regularly along 3200 West to a nearby park.
“It feels like it could have been anyone, anyone who’s out on a walk, to have your life shattered and changed in like a moment,” one woman said.
Contributing: Garna Mejia, KSL TV
