‘She was an angel’: Family grieves loss of toddler struck, killed by car in North Versailles

NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. — A heartbroken family is grieving the loss of a toddler who was struck and killed by a car in North Versailles on Tuesday.

With tears streaming down her face, Arionna Porter’s mother Ariel Coover, remembers her sweet little girl.

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“Her silly giggle,” Coover said. “Her little gummy smile. Her little sharp tooth, and then her little silliness, the noise she made. Her laughter, it just lightened anyone’s day.”

The 1-year-old would often visit her grandparents’ house in Turtle Creek with her three siblings, Alex, 8, Ayla, 3, and 2-month-old Ahlani. Her grandpa Manny Porter said the pair had a special bond.

“Whenever I was having a bad day, she would come over, smile and make me happy,” Porter said. “Every time she’d see me, she would come up, hug me, pat me on my shoulder every time and nobody else was allowed to touch me when she was around me.”

The heartbroken family is devastated after their Fourth of July celebration turned tragic.

“She was an angel,” said Sherry Coover, Arionna Porter’s aunt. “She was just happy all the time. It just upsets me that a tragedy like this could happen to a baby.”

Allegheny County Police said Arionna was hit and killed by an SUV in the parking lot of Eastland Apartments in North Versailles where she lived.

“It just happened in a split second,” said Ariel Coover.

The mother said they were outside having fun and waiting for their ride when she turned toward her other daughter. She said moments later, she heard a car peel out. Coover told Channel 11, her neighbor’s boyfriend was behind the wheel.

“My 3-year-old called my name,” Ariel Coover said through tears. “I just turned my head to attend to her and then I heard one of the residents at the apartment complex scream. I looked over and I see my baby on the ground.”

Ariel Coover’s boyfriend Cory Henderson said he was on his way to pick them up and bring them to the child’s grandparents’ house.

“Having a kid that I’m literally on my way to pick up, to get hit; it just destroyed me,” said Henderson.

Henderson said Arionna just learned how to say his name.

“It’s so cute,” he laughed. “She pronounces it in a weird way. It sounds like a ‘K’ like, ‘Kory. Kory.’”

Those memories help to lift the family up as they mourn an unthinkable loss.

“I lost my best friend, or at least one of them,” Ariel Coover said. “I think of the good memories that I’ve had with her, and they make me cry, but good tears, cry because I know she’s in a better place.”

The driver did stay on the scene. It’s unclear if that person will face charges. Arionna’s mother said she wants him to be held accountable.

Meantime, the family is planning a candlelight vigil and balloon release in her honor. It will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at Eastland Apartments in North Versailles.

To help with Arionna’s funeral expenses, click here.

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