SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — The mother of a 3-year-old who was trapped in a sunken car for several minutes before being rescued says her daughter is making slow but steady progress in her recovery.
“She’s starting to walk with a little assistance. She’s eating on her own. She’s talking a little bit, some words here and there.” Tamika Stanton told Channel 2’s Tom Regan.
Tamika says her child’s godmother, 23-year-old Nafeeza Samad, was driving her daughter to go shopping on Aug. 10. Police say Samad was driving drunk and speeding when she crashed through a wall and plunged into Dundee Park Lake in Spalding County.
Samad climbed up on the roof and was rescued by a bystander, but Hailey Stanton remained trapped in the car for several minutes. First responders arrived and smashed a window to pull her to safety.
Tamika says it’s a miracle Hailey survived.
“I don’t know who was down there with my child, but by the grace of God she was covered in that vehicle.” Stanton said.
After spending four months in the hospital, Hailey is finally home. Her mother says because of a traumatic brain injury, her daughter has to relearn basic tasks.
“This is like having a newborn and teaching them everything again. She (Samad) took three precious years from my child that we can’t get back,” the mother said.
She is upset because she says Samad, who is accused of DUI, child endangerment and other charges, was granted a $100,000 bond. She says the bond was granted because the district attorney’s office didn’t bring the case before a grand jury by the 90-day deadline.
“I feel like the DA’s office in Spalding County dropped the ball on this one. This is what they said over the phone, they dropped the ball, and they’re sorry.” Stanton said.
A representative for the district attorney told Channel 2 Action News that they understood the mother’s frustration. They said they were not able to present the case to a grand jury because they’re awaiting critical police and medical reports.
Stanton says she’s upset over the possibility the former godmother could be freed from jail.
“The reason I don’t think it’s fair, is because she has the opportunity to spend Christmas with her family,” Stanton said. “And I have reteach my child what Christmas is. I want her to suffer just like we had to.
“I believe she should remain in jail. If that means 10 years, 15 years, 25 years, she needs to sit.”
Stanton says she is struggling financially because she can’t put her injured child into daycare.
“Before, I could go to work. She’s supposed to be going to preschool starting next August and everything has changed now. Hailey wouldn’t be where she is right now, if it wasn’t for me, and my husband and even her siblings trying to help her to be independent. She’s doing great. She’s sitting up by herself.” Stanton said.
The Spalding County District Attorney’s Office tells Channel 2 Action News the case will presented to a grand jury in January.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with Hailey’s ongoing medical expenses.
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