A Northern Virginia restaurant says it's helping to raise money for an employee's family after her daughter was critically injured and her niece died when a car struck them as they walked home from school.
Just before noon on June 6, Katya, her cousin Ada Gabriela and their friend were walking home from Oakton High School when a white BMW struck them.
Ada Gabriela and the cousins' friend died.
Katya suffered life-threatening injuries and medics rushed her to a hospital.
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Katya's mother, who is also Ada Gabriela's aunt, works at the Greek restaurant Our Mom Eugenia in Merrifield.
Operators of the restaurant told News4 Monday that she told them Katya was doing well and she is a "miracle."
Katya's mother Lilia Martinez is a beloved member of the staff at the restaurant.
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“She’s a hard worker, very punctual. She's here every day at eight o'clock, leaves at three o’clock to be home with her family. She does not work on weekends for the same reason. She wants to be close to her kids, so she is a very hard worker and a good mom," Alexander Hobson told News4.
So far, a GoFundMe page set up for the cousins and their families has raised more than $100,000. Our Mom Eugenia is supporting the cause by sharing the link to the fundraiser with its customers.
"We are all, like, shocked. Yeah, I cannot imagine what they're going through and I cannot imagine once Katya recovers from her injuries, what she'll be going through having lost her cousin and her dear friend," Hobson said.
The family says Ada Gabriela’s funeral will be held Tuesday and that her body will be sent back to Honduras.
Four people were inside the white BMW when in crashed at a high rate of speed into a Toyota 4Runner before striking the three girls, Fairfax County police said. The driver of the BMW is 18 and was also a student at Oakton High School.
Investigators have filed a search warrant for the BMW's airbag control module to find out how fast the car was going before the crash.
