The parents of a D.C. girl killed in a tragic parking lot crash are sharing their grief with the community. News4’s Dominique Moody spoke with the parents of 5-year-old Zyinya Crump.
Photos of 5-year-old Zyinya Crump show a gorgeous smile, filled with optimism and innocence.
It's one of the memories that her parents, Lamia Cain and Chantel Stewart, are holding onto after their sweet baby girl was killed, in a tragedy earlier this week in Southeast D.C.
"My daughter was the happiest baby ever," Cain said, through heavy tears and with a shaking voice. "And honestly, we made sure that my daughter was happy. Like my daughter was a blessing to us."
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Cain and Stewart say their daughter loved school. She was a fan of video games, and learning about makeup.
It was Tuesday afternoon when their lives changed forever.
"I got her up and got her dressed for school -- " Cain said, before choking up too much to continue speaking.
"She came in the room," Stewart said, picking up the memory. "And she looked cute, as she always do."
Zyinya was struck and killed in a BP gas station parking lot at Minnesota and Pennsylvania Avenues in Southeast Washington, just before 4 p.m. The little girl -- crossing the parking lot at the time -- ran into the path of a car.
Zyinya was rushed to a hospital, where she later died.
"Everything that I've built was for her. Everything," Stewart said. "Like she was everything."
The driver, not yet identified by police, stayed on the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.
"She was innocent, she was five," Stewart said, voice cracking. "How fast do you have to be going at a gas station parking lot?"
Investigators say the collision happened during the afternoon rush hour. Zyinya's parents say it's a time when the roads around the gas station are congested with traffic.
"It's three different directions that you can go in, and again, people cut through so much to die down the traffic," Stewart said. "And that needs to stop."
"It should be a crossing guard, or at least somebody there, to walk or watch the streets. It's not just that the lights are out a lot," Stewart said.
Video from the scene showed investigators examining the front of a Jeep, which was believed to have hit Zyinya.
The little girl had just celebrated her fifth birthday. Her parents say they were waiting at home Tuesday afternoon with McDonald's, one of Zyinya's favorite after-school treats, when they got the call that no parent should ever have to experience.
Now they're calling for changes at the intersection, after losing their only daughter.
"Just be careful," Cain said. "And that bus stop, I think, is in a horrible place. I think they should just take that bus stop down."
