D.C. father pleads for help after he and daughters are hit by car walking to school
A GoFundMe account the father set up has raised more than $50,000.
A D.C. father is experiencing the unthinkable after he and his two daughters were hit by a car walking to school. The moment left all three traumatized, said father Tyrone Belton.
“I looked to my left, I just saw the front of the Jeep — it just rammed me,” Belton said in an interview with WTOP. “I really thought my kids made it across the street.” He quickly realized 8-year-old Faith and 6-year-old Heavyn were also hit. Ironically, the incident occurred on Wednesday, Oct. 6, which is National Walk to School Day.
Belton has a broken ankle, and Faith a broken leg. Heavyn’s injuries, however, are more severe: She will require surgeries for facial injuries. Currently, all three are home and recovering, but Belton is trying his hardest to help his girls recover emotionally.
“It’s kind of hard to see them like that. They literally will put a smile on your face, and you don’t even have to know them,” he said. “They will light up your world. I’m hurt, as a man, so I can just imagine what my kids are going through.”
Belton said his daughter’s have changed for the worse because of the accident, including signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and a fear to go outside. She prefers to be at her grandmother’s house, “She’s got all her cousins over there, to comfort her,” Belton explained.
“I just want to be able to give them whatever they need, and let them be able to do whatever they want to try to take their mind off things. Even if it’s just for the moment. I just want to see them smile again.”
Belton set up a GoFundMe page to help cover medical costs and other expenses for the girls. Currently, he’s raised more than $50,000, far exceeding his $5,000 goal. He says the financial donations will help him pay for some temporary distractions for his girls.
He’s unable to work right now due to the accident, but said he’s by the generosity people have shown.
“Truly, I appreciate all that love they’ve been showing my kids,” he said. “I’ve never seen that from just random people, who don’t even know me or my kids. I honestly felt more good about reading all the comments than seeing the money. Just reading those comments — I felt it in my spirit.”
The driver of the Jeep was charged at the scene with several violations.
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