Family grieves after girl hit and killed by pickup in Tampa

Memorial held for child hit, killed by car

Family and friends of a 7-year-old girl who was hit and killed by a car as she ran across the street gathered on Wednesday night to celebrate her life. FOX 13’s Genevieve Curtis reports.

TAMPA - After a fatal accident involving a seven-year-old and a pickup truck, a mother is left heartbroken. 

The backstory:

The moments after Jessica Williams picked up her phone Sunday night are a blur, and likely always will be. "I (was) confused. I'm like, my baby?"

Jalaysia Capers, her cousin and two other children had been eager to get a drink from a store to go with dinner. They left the apartment they shared just before 8 p.m.

"I was like, okay, you can go ahead and go," Williams said. "Everybody went. I said, y'all guys be careful. Make it to the store and come back. They never made it to store."

Dig deeper:

FHP says three of the children were hit by a passing pickup truck. An 11-year-old and an 8-year-old recovered from their injuries. But Jalaysia, who her family called, "Baby," passed away at the hospital. "She was such a sweet little girl," said Williams. "Very respectful, so affectionate. When you met her, she didn't want to shake your hand. She wanted to give you a hug."

PREVIOUS: Child hit, killed running across Tampa street: FHP

There was a sea of purple at Al Barnes Park Wednesday night as they held a balloon release in her honor.

 A reflection of all the lives, Jalaysia Capers touched, in her short one.

"When she came into the school, she's gonna give you a big hug, not letting go. You'd be like, look Jalaysia, look, just one hug. It's no handshakes, it's a hug. That was how she greeted you," said Jamelle Acosta, her Principal at Idea Victory Academy. " When I tell you that she had a pure heart, a heart of gold, just nothing but joy. And we are honored as a school, as a community, to be able to experience the time that we have with her."

Her classmates and teachers wore the bold color to school at Idea Victory Academy on Wednesday too, united in their loss.

Mother opens up after daughter killed in crash

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank spoke to the mother who says she lost her daughter who was crossing the street with several other children when she was hit and killed.

"It may not be normal and that we may not be okay, but we're all feeling it and if we all know that we're feeling it, and we can all address it together, then we can get through it together," said Acosta.

On Sunday, Jalaysia, her cousin and two other children were eager to get a drink from a store to go with dinner.

"She was such a sweetheart. And this loss, it came way too soon. Her life ended way too soon. It was just an emotional accident. And we're going to miss her," said Menora Milos, the Assistant Principal at Idea Victory Academy.

They carried purple balloons, wrote messages to her, and comforted her mom.

"I just would like people to be around me in this time," said Williams. "Because it hurts really, really bad."

Jalaysia was a second-grader at IDEA Victory School and talked all the time about becoming a veterinarian. "She was a country girl," Williams said. "She was born in Brunswick, GA. She was a Country Girl at heart."

FHP interviewed the driver, but is calling the crash a horrible accident. Jessica says she would like to hear from the driver, just to get a complete picture of the moment that cost her so much.

The depth of her loss is only beginning to sink in. "One minute we tried to laugh with the memories of her," said Williams. "The next minute we are breaking down, we console one another."

What's next:

The family is about to move into a new place, and will decorate a bedroom for her just the way she wanted.

The two other children who were hit have been released from the hospital.

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