Emily Grace Hall was being pushed in a stroller by her 55-year-old grandmother, Priscilla Marie Clendenin, when the stroller was struck by a moving vehicle.
According to People, on April 26, Clendenin was pushing the 4-year-old from South Carolina in her stroller when a vehicle reportedly came out of nowhere, striking the little girl.
The vehicle allegedly failed to stop after hitting the child and sped off.
Hall died as a result of the hit-and-run.
Now, according to reports, both the driver allegedly involved in the incident and Clendenin are facing charges. Three days later, on April 29, the driver accused of hitting the child, 39-year-old Eric Snowden, was arrested.
Snowden was charged with leaving the scene of a crime involving death. He was released on $5,000 bail.
Clendenin, 55, was charged with one count of unlawful neglect of a child. As People reports, the grandmother was reportedly drunk at the time of the hit-and-run.
However, she has since refuted those allegations. Clendenin told WMBF:
“I would never ever put my grandchildren in harm’s way to get hurt, ever. I would rather it be me a million times over than it to be her. […] I don’t know where he come from, but he was going so very fast, never stopped, didn’t care.”
The grandmother was also released. Neither Snowden nor Clendenin have issued a plea.
Hall’s mother, Danielle Lawson, told WMBF that her daughter was “so full of life”:
“My little girl, she was my little mini-me and she was just so happy, so full of energy, so full of life.”
Lawson also defended her mom, saying Clendenin would never have intentionally hurt Hall:
“My mom would never ever intentionally harm any of her grandchildren and I know my mom did not mean for this to happen.”
As WMBF reports, Lawson was on her way to pick up her daughter when she found herself stuck in traffic. She told reporters that she was overwhelmed with a “gut feeling” before learning of her daughter’s unexpected passing.
“For some reason, I just could feel it,” she admitted. “I just knew something was wrong… I just knew.”
Lawson is doing her best to stay strong for her 1-year-old child. A GoFundMe has been set up for the mom to help with funeral expenses.