INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Family tells FOX4 a 7-year-old Independence, Missouri, girl has died Thursday after a crash earlier this week blamed on a large pothole.
The crash happened just before 5 p.m. Monday. Seven-year-old Tiler Dildine was one of three people injured in the wreck on East 23rd Street Trafficway near Stark Avenue.
Tiler’s family said she was hit broadside after the vehicle she was riding in crossed the median, overcorrecting after hitting the pothole.
The little girl was on life support for several days after the crash. But after multiple tests showing no brain activity, she was declared dead Thursday morning, Tiler’s aunt Rachel McGee told FOX4.
McGee said she will be an organ donor.
The family has set up a GoFundMe for Tiler’s mother.
Tiler’s mother is also hospitalized with a potentially broken pelvis and other health issues. The driver of a F-150 truck also involved in the crash was in critical condition immediately after the crash.
Since FOX4’s reporting on this tragic crash, the Missouri Department of Transportation put up a long line of traffic cones around the pothole.
On Wednesday, MoDOT said a likely water main break will need to be repaired before the potholes can be filled. But a spokesperson for Kansas City said they do not have any water mains or ground pipes in the area.
But on Thursday, FOX4 cameras captured crews out working on filling the pothole.
Still none of this has been soothing for family members who blame the pothole for causing the crash.
It’s also disturbing for Moriah Cox, who banged up her car in that same pothole about 24 hours before the wreck that has now killed the 7-year-old girl.
“It was so hard, you know? I’m just surprised my car went over it. I’m surprised I didn’t lose control,” Cox said.
She called Kansas City’s 311 line and said an employee told her it could take 60 days to fix.
“I understand normal potholes. But this is an issue, and especially because somebody wrecked and people are hurt, you know what I mean?” Cox said.
FOX4 asked the city of Kansas City and MoDOT if they received any reports about this pothole ahead of the crash or even before then. Both said they had not.
