Local News

Online fundraiser started to help family of 5-year-old killed in Revere crash

“Today I am begging for your help to raise money for a friend of ours who just lost her beautiful 5 year old daughter.”

Revere, MA - 12/10/18 This Revere vehicle stopped briefly in the left travel lane to allow a woman to place the stuffed animal at the scene. A small memorial has been started at the intersection of Route 145 and North Shore Road in Revere. Autumn L. Harris, 42, was arraigned in Chelsea District Court, on motor vehicle homicide and negligent operation of a motor vehicle charges. She is accused of hitting five people with her SUV on Sunday. A 5-year-old girl died at the scene. A 2-month-old had life-threatening injuries Photo by Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff Topic: 11revere Reporter: Travis Andersen Pat Greenhouse / The Boston Globe

By Dialynn Dwyer

2 minutes to read

A fundraiser is underway to help the family of a 5-year-old who was struck and killed while waiting to cross the street in Revere on Sunday.

Related Links

The GoFundMe page, started on Monday by Evelyn Muniz, aims to help the parents of Adrianna Mejia-Rivera bring her body back to El Salvador to be buried.

“Today I am begging for your help to raise money for a friend of ours who just lost her beautiful 5 year old daughter,” Muniz wrote.

Their other child, a 2-month-old girl, was severely injured in the crash and remains in intensive care at Massachusetts General Hospital, according to The Boston Globe.

Advertisement:

“Please help me pray for a miracle that they don’t also [lose] their baby,” Muniz wrote.  

Authorities say the siblings, a toddler, and two adult women were waiting on the sidewalk inside the median strip of Route 145 near North Shore Road before 5 p.m. when an SUV veered off the road into them. The driver, 42-year-old Autumn Harris of Beacon Hill, was arraigned Monday on charges of motor vehicle homicide and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Prosecutors say she told authorities after the crash that she took sleep medication the night before, only slept two hours, and then drank a beer Sunday afternoon.

Advertisement:

“She allegedly stated the she had vaped CBD oil in the vehicle and that she might have nodded off at the wheel,”  Suffolk District Attorney John Pappas said in a statement.

Mejia-Rivera died at the scene of the crash, and her sister was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries. The toddler and two adults were transported to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of less serious injuries. A passenger in the vehicle with Harris was also hospitalized with minor injuries.

“These are the [parents’] only two children,” Muniz wrote on GoFundMe. “The [parents’] last wish is to have their little girl buried in their country of El Salvador. This is why we need your help. No amount is too little, anything is welcome. Thank you for your support.”

As of noon Tuesday, the page had raised more than $10,000 of its $15,000 goal.

Mejia-Rivera’s uncle, Adelson Mejia, spoke to WHDH through a translator about his niece.

“She was a happy little girl and loved playing with my daughter,” he told the station. “They played a lot together. This has impacted our family greatly.”

Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo told the Globe that grief counselors are on hand at the elementary school the 5-year-old attended.

Advertisement:

“We are overcome with sorrow by this unthinkable loss,’’ Arrigo said. “On behalf of the entire City of Revere, I express our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the family, knowing that no words can begin to ease their pain and sadness.”

“This family was an integral part of the Garfield School family, and everybody at the Garfield School is devastated at this loss,” Revere schools Superintendent Dianne Kelly told the Boston Herald.

According to Boston 25 News, a memorial of balloons and stuffed animals has been started for the 5-year-old near the scene of the crash.

Among the remembrances is a handwritten letter decorated with pink and blue drawings of two girls and the letters “A+R.”

“Adriana you will be missed. Your best friend, Ruby,” it reads.

https://twitter.com/AndyDevine78/status/1072480723477647360