A two-year-old Alaska girl has been left orphaned after surviving a head-on crash that claimed the lives of both her parents.
Sasha Hart, 38, and her husband, David Hart, 41, were driving along the Parks Highway near milepost 115 in Trapper Creek, Alaska, when the fatal collision occurred at about 9am on October 19.
Their daughter, Paige, survived the crash but sustained six broken bones.
‘Troopers responded and a preliminary investigation revealed that a black 2018 Subaru Forester operated by 38-year-old Fairbanks resident Sasha Hart was traveling south on the Parks Highway and crossed the center line, colliding head-on with a white 2008 Ford F-250, which was traveling north,’ Alaska Department of Public Safety wrote in a dispatch report.
The Hart family has called Paige’s survival a ‘miracle,’ according to KTUU, as the toddler continues recovering from her injuries. Paige was transferred from Mat-Su hospital in Anchorage for further treatment and is now in stable condition.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Alaska Department of Public Safety for further information while the investigation continues.
Shery Elterman-Hart, David’s sister, told the outlet that the couple had celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary shortly before the devastating crash.
She said Sasha and David had created a family life that brought together Sasha’s Jamaican heritage and David’s Alaskan roots.
Sasha Hart, 38, (right) and her husband, David Hart, 41, (left) were killed in a crash on the Parks Highway in Trapper Creek, Alaska, at around 9am on October 19. Source: Facebook/ @David Hart
Paige Hart, the two-year-old daughter of David and Sasha, survived the collision but suffered six broken bones. Source: Facebook/David Hart
Shery Elterman-Hart, David’s sister, said the couple, pictured, had celebrated their 10th anniversary shortly before the fatal crash. Source: Facebook/David Hart
Speaking about Sasha, Elterman-Hart told the outlet: ‘She just became one of us. We were really close with David before they met, but then when she came, she just sort of lumped right in.’
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David’s other sister, Katie Ragsdale, said the couple cherished their role as parents and loved raising Paige.
‘She was their entire world. I don’t know if it’s Paige’s house or their house,’ Ragsdale joked to the outlet.
Relatives said Paige’s personality, expressions and love of sweets all remind them of her parents.
‘You still have a piece of them, a living piece of them still on Earth,’ Ragsdale told the outlet.
The Hart family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover Paige’s medical costs and other needs. Elterman-Hart plans to help raise the orphaned toddler alongside her own children.
‘As Shery rushes to be with Paige, traveling to Anchorage with her husband and their two boys, the family is being asked to carry an overwhelming amount of grief, uncertainty, and urgent need all at once,’ the fundraiser description stated.
‘My heart is broken, David and Sasha were amazing parents who impacted so many. I worked with David for years and Sasha was such a light with the biggest smile every time I saw her. This tragedy is so unfair,’ a friend of David’s wrote in a Facebook post.
Elterman-Hart (right) plans to raise Paige, the two-year-old girl orphaned in the crash, with her husband and their two boys. Source: Facebook/Shery Elterman-Hart
The head on collision occurred near the mile 115 post on Parks Highway in front of a Three Bears gas station (pictured) in Trappers Creek, Alaska
According to an Alaska Department of Public Safety wrote in a dispatch report, ‘Sasha Hart was traveling south on the Parks Highway and crossed the center line, colliding head-on with a white 2008 Ford F-250, which was traveling north’
The Hart family has raised close to $30,000 of their $35,000 goal.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Shery Elterman-Hart, Sean Elterman and Genevieve Chacho, the fundraiser organizers, for comments.