Christine Wilkinson and Kristi Robins talk about last Sunday night's crash near Genesee that left Robins' 15-year-old daughter with multiple injuries.
Story Published:
Jun 17, 2007 at 12:39 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Jun 17, 2007 at 12:39 PM PDT
LEWISTON
- It was a terrible crash last Sunday night on U.S. 95 near
Genesee
, as the teenage driver of a pickup lost control of it. The pickup rolled and 15-year-old Karly Robins of
Lewiston
was thrown threw the windshield. She was critically injured.
Now, Karly's mother is speaking out with a message for all cell phone users who drive.
"Don't text message," said Kristi Robins. "Don't use your phone when you're driving. Pay attention to what you're doing."
On Friday, Kristi Robins and 18-year-old Christine Wilkinson of Clarkston sat down for an interview at
St. Joseph
Regional
Medical
Center
, where Karly has in Intensive Care been since Sunday evening.
The initial Idaho State Police report of the crash said Wilkinson “for an unknown reason”...“took control” of the wheel of the pickup 18-year-old Danilla Tobias of Pomeroy was driving. Tobias reportedly then “grabbed the wheel, overcorrecting too quickly and causing the vehicle to lose control.”
On Friday, Wilkinson told her side of the story.
"Danilla was texting and she was looking down like this and she told me to grab the wheel after yelling at Karly for smoking a cigarette," said Wilkinson. "She told me to grab the wheel, so I did, and right where we were turning she was still texting. I told her to grab the wheel because I couldn't turn it because there's something in the middle on the mirror, hanging. She grabbed it and jerked it really hard to the left, and then she turned it right trying to correct herself. And, we started to slide. So, she turned it left, and right, and then left again and then the car flipped over and rolled from one side of the street to the other side, in the ditch."
Wilkinson and Tobias were able to get out of the pickup before it burst into flames. But they couldn't find Karly.
"I was like, 'Where's Karly?' and she's like, 'I don't know,’" said Wilkinson. "I was like, 'Well, we need to see where Karly is.' And, the car caught on fire and we were screaming thinking that Karly was inside. And then a whole bunch of cars came and lined up next to where the crash was, and they were like, 'Are you okay, are you okay?' and we said, 'No, we need to find our other friend. And, Karly popped her head up."
Kristi Robins said when her daughter arrived at the hospital, she was told that Karly’s spleen was severed and that she would die if she didn't have surgery immediately. Kristi said her daughter has shown improvement since then, but weeks of recovery are ahead because of the extent of multiple injuries.
"She's doing a lot better now," said Robins, fighting back tears. "They took the breathing machine off yesterday, but she's having a really hard time still. She's beat up really bad."
Christine Wilkinson also suffered injuries, including a concussion.
"Up here where they glued it, it's numb," said Wilkinson, pointing to a spot on her head. "I can't feel up here. And, on this side it's swollen. When I chew it hurts. The driver got a burn on her back from the gasoline and a couple scratches."
Wilkinson wanted to echo Kristi Robins’ admonishment about cell phones and safety.
"Don't text message when you're driving," Wilkinson said.
KLEW News had made arrangements with Danilla Tobias' mother to interview her and Danilla earlier in the week, but they did not show up for the interview. Multiple attempts were made to contact them Friday, but those attempts were not successful.
Lieutenant Allen Oswald of the Idaho State Police said the investigation is ongoing.
