LIHUE — The father of a girl who was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident in Hanamaulu last month said she could come home this week.
“She’s improving everyday,” Raymondo Sabay said of his daughter Arayza. “She’s doing PT, OT speech therapy and neurotherapy.”
Following the Jan. 11 accident, Arayza Sabay, who was 12 at the time, sustained a brain injury and fractured jaw and was transported to Queen’s Medical Center.
Her mother, Ma June and father have been by her side ever since.
Arayza is out of the rehabilitation center, Raymondo said. They hope she can continue her therapy on Kauai. His daughter, he said, is doing well emotionally, but sometimes asks him why this accident happened to her.
Police say the accident happened early in the morning as Arayza Sabay left her home and walked to a bus stop on Laukona Street, just south of the Hoohana Street Junction.
According to a preliminary investigation, police say the child was hit by a vehicle. When they arrived, the involved vehicle had left the scene of the accident.
On Jan. 20, police arrested and released 59-year-old Virgil Caday on suspicion of first-degree negligent injury, accidents involving serious bodily injury, inattention to driving, tampering with physical evidence and tampering with a witness.
Kim Tamaoka, spokeswoman for the County of Kauai, said KPD’s Traffic Safety Section is finalizing its investigation.
“Once complete, that report will be submitted to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for further action,” Tamaoka said.
Arayza Sabay attends Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School.
“You cannot imagine what it was like to see my daughter when we arrived at the emergency room in Lihue after the accident,” Raymondo Sabay said.
An account has been set up at gofundme.com/2t9ek9oon on behalf of the family to help with expenses incurred as a result of the accident.
