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| Anita Kayachith, 2, is shown with her father, Souvorachak Kayachith and mother, Melinda Athakhanh. | |
Posted on 03/11/2003 11:34:19 AM PST by Cagey
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At the scene of a deadly crash, Wisconsin state trooper Rhonda Waldera looked at the tiny shoes and knew she and her colleagues had to find the child they belonged to.
Souvorachak Kayachith, 21, and his wife, Melinda Athakhanh, 20, were killed about 4:15 a.m. Friday when their car slammed into a semitrailer truck on Interstate 94 near Hixton, Wis. The roof of the Twin Cities family's car had been sheared off, but rescuers found shoes, diapers, a small luggage bag and a "sippy" cup.
Six months pregnant and the mother of two already, Waldera was called to the scene to help. After seeing the items, she was adamant that a child must have been in the car. Only people traveling with a child would bring such things, she reasoned.
She was not going to stop searching until she found the child — dead or alive. "Stopping never crossed any of our minds," Waldera, 31, said Monday.
As the cold hours passed, some doubted a child was involved, but Waldera was adamant and the search continued. As many as 15 people were enlisted to help, including sheriff's deputies, tow truck drivers and highway maintenance workers.
For hours they found nothing. But at about 7 a.m., as the sun began to rise, small footprints were spotted leading from the car. At about the same time, a maintenance worker spotted something pink beneath some spruce trees and called out to the rest of the search team.
Little 2-year-old Anita Kayachith, dressed in a pink jacket, sweat pants and socks, was found. Anita had survived alone in 25-degree cold, with about an inch of snow on the ground.
"There was only a scratch on her head. She's very lucky to be alive," Waldera said.
Waldera was relieved they had found her, and glad they hadn't given up. A boss, Wisconsin State Patrol Lt. Darren Price, said it was Waldera's persistence that may have saved the child.
Anita's aunt, Sandy Kayachith of Brooklyn Park, was thankful for that persistence.
"She's a mother. She understands. There must be an instinct," Kayachith said.
Anita is back in the Twin Cities, staying with her grandparents. She doesn't remember what happened, said Houmpheng "Pang" Phongsavath, an uncle of one of her parents.
She asked for her parents several times Sunday. On Monday she was doing well, saying whatever normal 2-year-olds say.
Family members believe her parents' spirits helped the girl survive the ordeal with only scratches, said Kayachith. "They were looking out for her."
It is unclear how Anita survived the crash. Price and Waldera said she was likely sleeping in the back seat at the time. She was not in a car seat, Price said.
The family was heading southeast on I-94 to visit relatives in Georgia and Florida. Just after 4 a.m. near Hixton — about 120 miles southeast of St. Paul — a westbound semi slid on ice, jackknifed and crossed the median of the freeway.
The Brooklyn Park couple's car smashed into the trailer. The roof was sheared off as the car continued underneath the trailer, coming to rest about 500 feet away down a ditch in the median.
After the impact, Anita, who will turn 3 next month, escaped the wreckage, scampered across the highway and sought refuge beneath the trees, Price said.
"For a 2-year-old to navigate the highway and live, it was miraculous," Price said.
Services are being planned for the girl's Laotian-born parents. Kayachith's service will be Saturday; Astrakhan's service will be held the day after, according to Roseanne Inset, director of Crystal Lake Funeral Home in Minneapolis.
There are times when God places someone where they are most needed. This woman was a Godsend.
:::grin::: I'll bet there is a NO! or two peppered into her vocabulary. She is one lucky little lady.
I saw some news video of her with her Aunt on the news and she is indeed lucky to have survived such a horrific crash with no physical injuries. Not so lucky that she is now an orphan but it will probably be a long time before she understands what happened to her parents.
During the interview that Aunt also said that the little girl told her that her Mommy and Daddy came back. The Aunt said she thought they helped guide her to a safe place!
In any event, it is wonderful that this little girl survived--and that the State Trooper didn't give up looking for her!
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