2-Year-Old Survives Crash That Killed Her Parents
Paige Hart has six broken bones and is recovering in Alaska after the Oct. 19 accident on the Parks Highway that took her parents' lives.
By James Mitchell ·
Six broken bones. That is the tally of injuries for Paige Hart, a 2-year-old girl who survived a head-on collision that killed her parents on an Alaska highway on Oct. 19. The crash occurred near Trapper Creek on the Parks Highway, according to Alaska State Troopers.
The accident happened when Sasha Hart, 38, crossed the center line in her Subaru Forester while driving south. Her vehicle struck a northbound Ford F-250. David Hart, 41, was in the Subaru with Paige. Both adults died in the crash. Troopers confirmed the couple was traveling from Fairbanks, where they had built their family life.
The Harts had recently celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary. Shery Elterman-Hart, David’s sister, described the couple as having blended Sasha’s Jamaican heritage with David’s Alaskan roots. "She just became one of us. We were really close with David before they met, but then when she came, she just sort of lumped right in," Elterman-Hart said.
Paige is now healing rapidly. Her aunt, Katie Ragsdale, noted that the child retains traits of her late parents, including a specific facial expression and a preference for sweet food. "You still have a piece of them, a living piece of them still on Earth," Ragsdale said.
Elterman-Hart held Paige during a recent interview and asked the child directly, "She’s a miracle. Aren’t you?" The family said the couple’s home in Fairbanks remains a central part of their lives, with Ragsdale noting that it feels like Paige’s house as much as it was their own.
The 2-year-old is expected to continue her recovery at home, supported by the extended Hart family in Fairbanks.
