Himes got emotional as he talked with the Springfield News-Sun. He said his daughter doesn’t deserve to be in so much pain and no parent deserves to see their child nearly die in front of them.
Kamela is currently recovering in Miami Valley Hospital, where she was taken by CareFlight after the crash on Saturday.
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“She is stable,” he said. “There’s just a lot there they’re working on and a lot that can still go wrong. We’re just still praying for her.”
Himes said he and a large group of family and friends were tubing on the Mad River. Several people, including his daughter were deflating their tubes when the crash happened just after 7:30 p.m.
Himes didn’t see the impact happen — something he’s thankful for — but his friend, Brett Murnahan did.
Murnahan said the SUV appeared to be speeding. He said Kamela stepped out into the road, and the SUV went left of center and hit her.
“He went a good 150 (to) 200 feet at least,” Murnahan said. “But when he hit her, he never hit the brakes.”
Murnahan said he rushed over to help Kamela and keep her alert until medics could arrive — which he said, in the heat of the moment felt like an eternity.
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He said Kamela wasn’t responding at first, but it was because of her father’s love that she survived the crash.
“Fred screamed and her whole body jumped, “I believe her father brought her back.”
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers identified Michael S. Wade as the driver of the SUV. They also say that Wade was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
At last check on Monday night, Wade had not been charged in the crash — but Himes said he wants the driver punished to the fullest extent of the law.
“I don’t wish this on anybody. She didn’t deserve it,” he said.
The crash is still under investigation by OSP.
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