Girl, 4, Dies After Mother Crashes Into Tree In Carmichael

CARMICHAEL (CBS13) — A mother was seriously hurt and her 4-year-old daughter died in a crash Thursday morning in Carmichael.

California Highway Patrol units received reports around 7:20 a.m. of a single-vehicle crash on Winding Way just east of Dewey Drive.

CHP and responding Sacramento Metro Fire officials said the vehicle, a Subaru sedan, went off the roadway and struck a tree along Winding Way eastbound.

The driver, a mother described as being in her 30s, and her young child, both of Fair Oaks, were the only occupants of the vehicle that CHP said was split into two parts due to the crash.

CHP said the mother told them she was driving home at an unknown speed when she was cut off by a truck and lost control of her car before veering off the road.

Later in the morning, CHP said they learned that the child had succumbed to her injuries. Officials said the driver suffered major injuries and is currently fighting for her life at Mercy San Juan.

Family members have identified the young girl as Jerliyah and her mother as Chardae Murphy. Cousin Todd Chadwick spoke to CBS13 about Jer'Liyah.

"[She was] full of life, loved everybody. Just a typical four-year-old. Never hurt anybody, loved everybody, and now she's gone because of a road rage incident," Chadwick said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

CBS13 has also learned of a potential connection between this crash and a fight that broke out at Barrett Middle School, just down the road. The victim's family members said they went to Barrett Middle School looking for the truck driver who allegedly ran Murphy off the road, causing this crash.

It was at Barrett where the sheriff's office says the confrontation escalated.

The sheriff's office cited three adult men for battery on school grounds. They said law enforcement is looking at a potential connection between the fight at Barrett and the fatal crash on Winding Way. The sheriff's office is turning over information to the CHP, and they will determine what the link is.