Niagara Falls mom urges drivers to be alert after daughter left in coma

A mother is speaking up after her daughter suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit by a vehicle while walking to school on Oct. 30.

It happened on Drummond Road in Niagara Falls, and police say crashes involving vehicles and pedestrians are on the rise with 14 so far in the Niagara area this year.

“It took one second to completely destroy an entire family,” said Brooke Clark. Her 14-year-old daughter Mila is currently at McMaster Children’s Hospital.

“She is still classified as being in a coma, she has her eyes open, but she is not neurologically awake,” said Clark. “She is severely brain damaged on the right side. I don’t know to what degree the injuries are yet.”

Clark says when her daughter was first hit, doctors didn’t expect her to survive. Now she says she could be in the hospital for up to two years.

“She is so strong, they did not think she was going to survive the first two days,” said Clark. “We were going hour-by-hour and now we’re going day-by-day and week-by-week. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met in my life.”

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The driver did remain on scene at the time and has been charged with careless driving causing bodily harm.

“I can’t imagine what the family is going through,” said Const. Richard Hingley with Niagara Regional Police. “It’s our detective’s jobs to do a thorough investigation to bring some clarity and resolve for the victim, for their families, and for the community abroad. We ask for motorists to always be present, be focused.”

The medical director of pediatric emergency at McMaster, Dr. Alim Pardhan, shares that message.

“From a driver perspective, we certainly want people to be aware of their surroundings, to reduce the speed of driving and be aware of driving conditions while they’re driving, and certainly where there are children and adults playing around the streets or maybe on the streets as something to be aware of,” said Pardhan.

Clark has a message for all drivers.

“Get rid of the distractions, stop looking at your cellphones,” she said. “I have stood in the spot where my daughter got struck and I have seen men brushing their teeth. I have seen women applying make-up on their phones.”

READ MORE: Pedestrian suffers life-threatening injuries after collision in Niagara Falls