A Dayton 7-year-old remained in critical condition Monday after being struck in a crosswalk by an uninsured driver last weekend.
Lindsay Davidson's father, Spencer Davidson, said his daughter sustained a ruptured spleen and a head injury in the accident on Dayton Valley Road just before 11:30 a.m. Lindsay is under sedation in the intensive care unit at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, said Davidson.
The Dayton Elementary School second-grader and neighbor Destiny Smith, 12, were on their way home from a convenience store trip for ice cream and candy when they waited for traffic to stop at the crosswalk on Dayton Valley Road near Driftwood Way.
Spencer Davidson said after an eastbound motorcyclist stopped in the slow lane with another vehicle behind it, the girls crossed the street. But an eastbound van, driven by Dayton resident Adrienne Siwadymejia, 33, drove around the stopped vehicles and struck Lindsay with the driver's side front bumper, hurling the child an estimated 35 feet.
Officials suspect Siwadymejia was driving faster than the posted limit of 35 mph. Davidson said the skid marks from the accident are still visible and start inside the crosswalk and go another 30 feet.
Spencer Davidson and his wife, Pam, were in Las Vegas for the weekend while Pam's father stayed with the children. When the Davidsons got word of the accident they took the next available flight back to Reno.
"When I got the call it was a helpless feeling. There was nothing I could do," Spencer Davidson said. "You want to be able to protect your kids."
He and his wife arrived in Reno about 4:30 p.m. and went directly to the hospital where they've been from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. since.
Davidson said he hadn't prepared himself for what he saw when he looked at his little girl.
"I was expecting to see her a little banged up. I wasn't expecting to see a tube coming out of her forehead and her all purple and bruised," he said. "She's a beautiful little girl and I just wanted to see her as she was."
Police told the Davidson's that Siwadymejia did not have any insurance. The Davidsons now brace for the thousands of dollars in medical bills their daughter's care will accrue.
A bank account has been set up for anyone who wishes to help offset those bills. Donations can be made at any Bank of America Branch to the Lindsay Davidson Medical Fund.
The accident is being investigated by the Nevada Highway Patrol. Charges may be pending against Siwadymejia.
Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.