NORFOLK, Va. – A memorial grows for little Jailynn Santiful on the corner of Pickett Road and Old Court Drive where she was hit, just steps away from her Norfolk home.
“I want my baby back,” said Jailynn’s mother Sierra Coleman.
Coleman sits at her daughter’s memorial for hours, mourning her and praying for answers.
“She’s not here anymore. Jailynn had a full life ahead of her and she’s not going to get that anymore,” Coleman said breaking down in tears. “As much as I try to move on, I know she’s not coming back. As much as people tell me to pray, she’s not coming back and that’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life.”
Seven-year-old Jailynn was in the gifted program at school and about to start second grade. She never got the chance.
Jailynn has three sisters. She loved animals and wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up.
“My baby was so outgoing,” Coleman said. “She was smart. She loved to dance.”
Norfolk Police said Jailynn died at the hospital Saturday afternoon shortly after a driver hit her on Pickett Road. They said the driver stayed at the scene.
It’s unclear if that person will face charges.
Jaylynn’s mother said her daughter was crossing the street and was being watched by family.
"This is a neighborhood,” Coleman said through tears. “Regardless of if she should have been in street or not, my baby should have never been hit.”
The family just moved into the neighborhood a month ago and says drivers constantly speed down the busy stretch of road.
Numbers from the DMV show there were a total of nine pedestrian-related car deaths in Norfolk last year, matching the same number of deaths in the city so far this year.
“Please continue to pray for my baby,” said Coleman. “We’re going to fight; we’re going to get justice for my baby, and I won’t stop until I’m dead. I won’t stop.”
News 3 reached out to police for more information about how the crash happened. They haven’t said how fast the driver was going. They would only say the investigation is ongoing.
Meantime, Jailynn’s mother is starting a petition to get a stop sign or speedbump at the corner where her daughter was hit to help keep this from happening to anyone else.
