TOOELE CITY, Utah -- A 9-year-old Tooele City girl died doing what she loved this weekend after being thrown off an ATV she was riding with her mother and sister.
The accident happened Sunday afternoon outside the family’s home on Century Drive.
According to the family, the ATV hit a rock and tossed Caessea Anderson into a barbed wire fence in the family’s front yard.
Caessea’s mother, Necole Anderson, can't bear to look at the section of fence, where her daughter landed.
"She was mom's girl, she was my baby girl," Necole Anderson said.
Caessea’s 13-year-old sister Dustee was also on the ATV.
"I miss her so much she was my little sister," Dustee said.
The three of them were scooting through the yard, when Caessea asked to drive.
"’Mommy I want to drive, mommy I want to drive,’ and I knew my four-wheeler was too big for her but she was like, ‘mommy, mommy,’ she was persistent, she's persistent," Necole Anderson said.
Caessea had her own four-wheeler, and had ridden many times, but on this particular trek neither her nor her mother, could maintain control.
"I tried to turn but we hit that rock right there and it threw us into the fence," Necole Anderson said.
According to the family, the barbed wire cut right into Caessea's neck.
"She stood up and she was like, ‘mom my neck,’ and then she tried talking and she couldn't," Dustee said.
"We got her laid down and she never came back," Necole Anderson said.
Caessea was pronounced dead in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Her mom and sister were treated for broken bones and lacerations to the face. However, they say what hurts most is the void left in their family and their community.
"She impacted anybody she came across, anybody, even perfect strangers, if they only knew her for five minutes," Necole Anderson said.
"We were together every day and everybody in the neighborhood loved her because she was amazing," said Brickie Ebbenga, Caessea’s best friend.
Under Tooele City law any person under the age of 18 riding an ATV is required to wear a helmet.
No one was wearing a helmet in this particular crash. So far no charges have been filed, while the case remains under investigation.
