A four-year-old Kentucky girl has died after a devastating accident on her family’s farm, where she fell from the back of a tractor before the vehicle accidentally reversed over her.
Hellayna Michelle King had been riding on a trailer attached to the rear of the tractor when it came to an abrupt stop, causing the child to fall forward onto the ground.
According to Clark County Coroner Neal Oliver, the tractor then backed over Hellayna, leaving her with critical injuries.
Her grieving relatives say the closure of a nearby bridge also played a role in delaying the arrival of emergency responders at the farm.
Hellayna, lovingly known to her family as Layna, died after the September 2 incident, just one month before she was set to turn five.
Her aunt, LaDonna Lovings, said the family waited with the severely injured little girl for about 45 minutes before emergency help reached them.
‘They had to sit there 45 minutes with her and it was just a tragic, tragic loss,’ Lovings told WKYT.
The accident has shattered a family that should have been planning a fifth birthday celebration and is now mourning a little girl they called their ‘sunshine.’
Hellayna Michelle King, 4, died after a freak tractor accident on her family’s farm in Kentucky
Layna King is seen with her parents, Dalton King and Rebecca Lovings. The child was killed after falling from a tractor and being run over
‘Nothing can prepare you for having to say goodbye to your niece, your daughter, bonus daughter or whatever she was to us,’ Lovings said.
‘Words can’t express how much we miss her and how we wish we could go back.’
Lovings told how a bridge closure in the area meant emergency responders faced a significantly longer journey to reach the property.
She acknowledged that nobody can know whether a faster response would ultimately have saved Layna’s life, but she said having rescuers reach the little girl sooner would have mattered enormously to her stricken family as they watched her suffer.
‘If the bridge had been open, it would’ve taken them maybe 15, 20 minutes to get there,’ she said.
‘And you know, it may have made a difference, and it may not have made a difference – but the fact that somebody was there to try and help her would’ve made a difference.’
The little girl’s obituary remembered her as a vibrant youngster who brought happiness wherever she went and particularly adored the animals around her.
‘The farm was a special place for Layna, and she especially loved the cows,’ her family wrote.
The youngster was killed following a tragic accident on a tractor at the family farm. Pictured, dad, Dalton King takes Layna on her first tractor ride in July 2022
Layna was due to celebrate her fifth birthday on October 5
She also had a passion for singing, frequently filling the family home with her voice.
‘Whether she was outside playing, helping on the farm, or singing a favorite song, Layna embraced life with an energy and happiness that will be deeply missed by everyone who loved her,’ her obituary read.
Layna was one of four children and would have turned five on October 5.
‘You know accidents happen all the time and you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you,’ Hellayna’s mother, Rebecca Lovings wrote in a GoFundMe set up to help the family pay for an urn and meet household expenses.
‘We are so heartbroken we have lost our world and don’t know how to carry on with our lives,’ she wrote in an emotional message.
Her family remembered the youngster as their ‘sunshine’ who adored life on the farm and especially loved its cows
Her mother, Rebecca Lovings, pictured, said the family has ‘lost our world’ but must somehow carry on for their three surviving children
But the grieving mother said she and her husband know they somehow have to keep going for their three other children, who continue to depend on them every day.
Rebecca said asking strangers for financial assistance was difficult, but the family has missed work while dealing with the task of saying goodbye to Layna.
‘I don’t like asking for help but will need to swallow my pride as we need to get an urn for our beautiful baby girl,’ she wrote.
