Coon Rapids 10-year-old girl suffers severe injuries when car hits bike

COON RAPIDS, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 10-year-old girl in Coon Rapids is on a long road to recovery after a horrible bike accident earlier this month. And her family didn’t find out until much later.

Police and paramedics didn’t know who she was after she got hit at the intersection of East River Road and Foley Boulevard, which is part of the reason her family was in a panic for hours.

To know Keira Rose is to know a creative and caring 10-year-old gymnast with a big grin.

"She’s always smiling, always laughing," said Vanessa Mack, Keira’s sister. "She has this smile that’s just contagious."

But her dance moves and her smile are on hold for now. Keira’s been in a wheelchair or a hospital bed since June 4. Her family says the Adams Elementary School fourth grader was playing with friends who loaned her a bike with no brakes. So she couldn’t stop when she rode down a hill right into a busy intersection where a car hit her.

The driver called 911, but her mom says the other kids didn’t want to tell anyone for fear of getting in trouble, so it was hours before she tracked Keira down at Hennepin County Medical Center.

"She was on the bed on the ventilator all on a bunch of tubes," said Amanda Mack, Keira's mother.

"That first day was a lot of breaking down, and crying, shaking," said Vanessa Mack.

Keira suffered two broken legs, a broken pelvis, some brain damage, and other injuries. Doctors worried she might never walk or talk again. But as her family kept vigil, she started showing signs of progress.

"I think she’s got a lot of courage and strength. And you know, when they ask her she always gives a thumbs up," Amanda Mack said. "She’s very positive."

Keira’s still in intensive care and she has a long journey ahead. She’ll be hospitalized a while longer and in a neck brace for months. But her mom expects to see a bionic gymnast emerge from her traumatic experience.

"I feel like she’s going to come out even stronger in the end," her mom said.

Keira’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with hospital expenses.

Police are still investigating what led up to the collision, and they tell us they have no new information to release right now.