The 8-year-old daughter of a beloved pastor of the Kansas City, Missouri-area Rock Church died on Tuesday, Aug. 29, just six days after her dad’s Toyota Tundra truck was struck at an intersection. Her 5-year-old sister, who was also riding in its back seat at the time, remains in critical condition at the hospital. She reportedly cannot feel the lower half of her body.

A police spokesperson reports that the girls’ father was transporting his two daughters and a son to school at Hale Cook Elementary School the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 23. As he approached the intersection of Paseo and Gregory, it’s alleged that another motorist, identified as a University of Missouri student, pulled a car out in front of the Tundra.

The crash’s impact caused the Toyota to crash into a nearby street light post. Although it’s believed that the crash happened at just around 35 mph, that rate of speed was fast enough to crush the entire car.

There were four individuals that had been riding in the pastor’s truck at the time. They included the man, his school-aged son and two aforementioned daughters. The father’s spleen ruptured from the impact of the crash and the girls’ brother broke his wrist.

As for the sisters, both were critically wounded in the accident. While the elder sister’s heart was still beating when she arrived at the hospital, an MRI showed that she no longer had any brain activity. She passed away on Aug. 29.

Police note that the crash investigation is still ongoing. They note that they have yet to decide whether criminal charges will be brought against the university student. The police note that there is no preliminary evidence that the young adult had malicious intent to harm the family.

Even though police may not charge a driver with a criminal offense, in cases like this, it’s still possible for those injured or the estate of those killed to file a civil lawsuit in an accident case. In doing so, they may ask for both present and future medical expenses to be reimbursed as well as for compensation for a variety of different types of losses. They also may argue they’ve endured pain and suffering.

A Kansas City, Missouri, car accident attorney can help you sort out what claims you may wish to make in your particular case.

Source: KSHB Kansas City, “One daughter of KCMO pastor dead after crash; another seriously injured,” Andres Gutierrez, Aug. 29, 2017