An 11-year-old girl who was hit by a car at the Waukesha, Wisconsin, Christmas parade on Sunday asked the doctors to “glue me back together,” according to her uncle.
Jessalyn Torres was hospitalized Sunday after being hit by a car allegedly driven by Darrell Brooks on Nov. 21. Torres lost a kidney, had her pelvis broken, and suffered lacerations on her lungs and remaining kidney. She also had internal bleeding, according to the Sun. Her parents are staying by her side in the hospital, Torres’s uncle Ryan Kohnke said.
Kohnke added that Torres, fortunately, does not remember much about the night.
“I think she’s confused, she doesn’t really understand what happened,” Kohnke said. “A lot of these kids are confused, they don’t know how to feel. They’re all going through this in their own way, and most of them saw it.”
MULTIPLE DEATHS AND INJURIES AFTER CAR PLOWS THROUGH CHRISTMAS PARADE IN WISCONSIN
Kohnke said he was at the parade on Sunday and witnessed the event firsthand, but far enough away to not be in danger. However, when he saw the car cutting through, he knew his niece and sister could be hit.
“After I watched the guy barrel through, police trying to stop him, I knew my family was down there,” he told the outlet. “I grabbed my two children and we ran down there, I’m a veteran myself and it was like a war zone. There were bodies all over, people were just trying to help as much as they could. I just wanted to get the younger kids out of there so that’s what I did.”
Kohnke said his niece is a dancer and loves to get dressed up for her competitions. She was participating in the parade with her dance group during the attack.
“Jessalyn loves to dance, she loves her team and her friends,” Kohnke said. “She’s a stubborn, energetic, wonderful child, caring and adventurous. She’s very into beauty and looking pretty for her contests, and has a huge personality! She’s very individual.”
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Five people were killed and 48 were injured during the catastrophe at the Christmas parade. The alleged driver, Brooks, has been charged with five counts of intentional homicide and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. Brooks will appear in court Tuesday at 4 p.m.
