WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – A 13-year-old boy is fighting for his life after a car hit him and his 15-year-old sister as they rode an e-bike Saturday night in Redford, leaving him with a brain bleed and his sister with multiple serious injuries, his family says.
Kanaei Harris, 13, is now in intensive care at Children’s Hospital in Detroit, where his mother, Raven Bryant, 32, says he is not responsive.
“He has swelling in the brain — a brain bleed… He doesn’t even know who we are,” Bryant told Local 4.
Bryant said her children had ridden to 7-Eleven around 9:20 p.m. They were on their way home when they stopped near Inkster Road and Clarita because “cars were speeding.”
Her daughter, Romance Brooks, 15, told her they were about to turn onto a side street to get away from the larger road. Then, she says, a car hit them. Moments later, Bryant says her phone rang.
“‘Ma, someone just hit us off the bike, someone just hit us off the bike,’” Bryant said her daughter told her.
Bryant was only minutes away when she got the call. She said she threw something on, ran outside and flagged down a passing driver, who thankfully took her to the scene.
Then, she learned the teens were in the roadway, and strangers stopped to help.
“They actually pulled [Kanaei] out of the street and turned him over on his back. The woman sat with them and kept them calm, and they had another person that stopped and called 911,” Bryant said. “I want to thank them.”
A neighbor later told Bryant about the moments that unfolded right after the crash. The neighbor said her parents had driven past the crash before police and ambulances arrived. She said her father stayed with the siblings while another bystander called 911.
Her mother, she said, prayed with her over the phone as they waited for emergency crews.
“My parents did not see the person that hit them, but your baby boy was well loved and taken care of for the few minutes my dad was there - I promise you that. Praying so hard for you all,” the message said.
Bryant said her son passed out after hitting his head. He remains in a neck brace, Bryant said. His sister survived with four fractured ribs, a liver laceration, scrapes and bruises.
Bryant said neither teenager was wearing a helmet when they were hit, although they do have helmets.
Kanaei was already facing major health challenges before the crash. He has polycystic kidney disease and undergoes dialysis three times a week. Bryant said the crash damaged his dialysis port, meaning he needs surgery to have it repaired.
“They’re trying to come up with a plan that’s best for him to be able to do his dialysis, but not make the situation worse,” Bryant said. “It’s a wait-and-see. The part of the brain where he’s bleeding, he could be a completely different person after this.”
And before the crash, the family was preparing for a different kind of trip in California.
“[Kanaei] got a Make-A-Wish and was supposed to be getting ready to go to Disney,” Bryant said.
Redford Township police say the crash remains under investigation. The driver has been cited and could face additional charges because of the severity of the teen’s injuries.
Now, the family is asking anyone who saw the crash, or anyone whose cameras may have captured it, to come forward.