8-year-old Atlanta girl spends Christmas in hospital after being hit by car

8-year-old hit by car, recovering in hospital

Kayla Frazier has undergone two surgeries and now has rods in her back, requiring her to wear a full-body brace and miss the remainder of the school year.

ATLANTA - Kayla Frazier spent Christmas in the hospital instead of opening gifts.

8-year-old hit by car in Atlanta

The backstory:

Last Friday, a car hit the 8-year-old as she crossed a street near her home on Joseph E. Boone Blvd. in northwest Atlanta.

Child hit on Joseph E. Boone Blvd.

What they're saying:

"As they were crossing the street, the car hit my baby," said her mother, Tia Lawson. "My heart dropped."

Lawson saw the initial commotion on her home surveillance video. "I just saw a lot of people moving and crying and being hysterical," Lawson said.

She called her other children to find out what happened, "and that’s when they let me know that my baby got hit," Lawson said.

Lawson feared the worst. "You just see my baby laying there. She was unconscious," she said.

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Kayla Frazier (Tia Lawson)

The only thing Lawson could think of was getting to her little girl. "I just wanted to get to her. She’s only 8 years old. I just wanted to make sure my baby was okay," Lawson said.

Emergency crews rushed Kayla to the hospital. "She had to have two surgeries. She’s got rods in her back now. She’s got to go through physical therapy to start walking again," Lawson said.

Lawson says Kayla, a cheerleader with the Georgia Rattlers, will have to wear a brace for the next few months — "a whole-body brace."

Watching her daughter suffer when she should be celebrating the holidays like other kids is agonizing. "Bad, helpless. I can’t even help my baby. I can’t take away her pain. But that’s why I’m here," Lawson said.

Kayla has a long road ahead of her. Lawson says Kayla will miss the rest of the school year.