9-year-old crash victim calls hit-and-run suspects ‘cowardly’

The 9-year-old girl who was shown in a viral video being hit by a car in her front yard is out of the hospital.

In an interview with Channel 2 Action News, LaDerihanna Holmes said she is doing physical therapy and home schooling, about a month after a car flew into her while she played her front yard.

She had some strong words for the people in the car who left the scene after the crash.

“I feel like it was a cowardly thing to do,” she said. “You run me over but I’m going to get better real soon.”

Holmes suffered several injuries including a fractured skull and crushed pelvic bone. She is currently getting around with a wheelchair or walker, and hopes to regain use of her right leg through rehab.

“I don’t get to do the things that I usually would do, but I’m OK,” she told Channel 2.

The driver of the car, Gabriel Fordham, 28, turned himself in days after the crash and was charged with failure to maintain lane, failure to stop at a stop sign, reckless driving, hit-and-run, and serious injury by vehicle.

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Fordham, however, said he was carjacked by the passenger in the car, and blacked out during a tussle inside the Ford Fusion. The passenger ran away immediately after the crash; police are still investigating and trying to identify him.

The victim’s mother said she doesn’t believe Fordham’s story. He remains in jail without bond.

The crash near Lithonia on March 29 was captured on the Holmes’ video surveillance system and made national headlines. Holmes’ friend who was playing with her suffered an injury to her foot.