Cheerleader on way to Allstar World Championship run over by carjacker, cops say
A 9-year-old cheerleader on her way from Texas to the Allstate World Championship in Orlando, Florida, was run over and seriously injured, according to Louisiana police.
The cheerleader, who was identified on a GoFundMe page as Shelby Ayers/Wiedemann, was traveling with her two older sisters and her father May 2 when they stopped at a truck stop just before 12:30 a.m. in Minden, Louisiana, according to the Minden Police Department.
All four family members got out of the car, and the two older sisters, ages 13 and 17, returned to the vehicle first, police said. The father and the 9-year-old girl went into the store, and a Chevrolet pickup truck pulled in front of the family car, Minden Police Chief Jared McIver told McClatchy News.
A passenger jumped out of the truck, got into the family’s car and tried to steal it with the girls inside, police said. The father saw what was happening and ran toward the car.
The 9-year-old followed him, and as the second suspect tried to drive away in the truck, he intentionally turned and ran over the child, according to police.
The person in the family car was not able to start it, jumped out and ran off when he saw the girls’ father coming, McIver said. He later jumped into the getaway truck, and both suspects drove off.
Shelby Ayers/Wiedemann was able to roll under the truck and was not hit by the tires, according to a post on a Facebook page for Liberty Cheer, Gymnastics & Tumbling, a gymnastics center in Midlothian, Texas, that said it was posting on behalf of the Ayers/Wiedemann family.
The girl was flown to a hospital where she was admitted into an intensive care unit, according to the gymnastics center.
McIver said the girl had a broken clavicle; a broken scapula, which is a triangular bone at the back of the shoulder; and some road rash.
He said he spoke to her father May 3 and learned the girl is expected to make a “good recovery.”
The two suspects, who were identified as 16-year-old boys, had stolen the Chevrolet pickup truck from a U-Haul rental company before attempting to steal the family’s car at the gas station, McIver said. They were both later arrested.
One teen charged with attempted kidnapping and carjacking and is being held on a $2.5 million bond, McIver said. The one police say struck Shelby Ayers/Wiedemann with the truck has been charged with attempted second-degree murder and is being held on a $3 million bond, he said.
Liberty Cheer, Gymnastics & Tumbling wrote on Facebook that many of the center’s athletes had already arrived in Florida for the championship and would be dedicating their performances to the three sisters, who would not be able to attend.
“For this experience to be ripped away from them in such a traumatic way is just heartbreaking,” the post says. “We will dedicate these performances to Shelby, Bailey, and Chloe and do our best to make them proud. We love you girls so much.”
Minden, Louisiana, is about 250 miles northwest of Baton Rouge.
The Allstar World Championship is an international championship for competitive cheerleading held each year in the U.S.
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