A 5-year-old Morgan Hill girl was killed in a tragic accident
Wednesday afternoon. She was found at approximately 4pm and
airlifted by LifeFlight to Valley Medical Center, but she did not
survive.
A 5-year-old Morgan Hill girl was killed in a tragic accident Wednesday afternoon. She was found at approximately 4pm and airlifted by LifeFlight to Valley Medical Center, but she did not survive.
Miranda Faulhaver was in the backyard of her home on Hale Avenue when she apparently wandered into a barn stall. The horse inside the stall kicked her, causing severe injuries.
“The family is just stunned,” said Pastor Mike Birchfield of the West Hills Community Church.
Birchfield said he was with the family on Thursday, and Julie Beatty, Miranda’s mother, was “overwhelmed.” Beatty was not ready to talk to anyone outside of immediate family and close friends, Birchfield said.
Miranda and her twin sister, Trinity, were kindergarten students at the Charter School of Morgan Hill. A family friend, Debbie Hughes, was substituting for their regular teacher the day Miranda was killed.
“They were the happiest little girls,” Hughes said. “When I was in the classroom that day, we were doing something with magnifying glasses, pairing the kids up. Miranda said, ‘I’ll be partners with Trinny.’ I think Trinity’s going to have a difficult time doing things without her sister.”
Hughes said her family knows Julie’s family through the baseball team of their older sons. Miranda’s brother, James, is on a team with Hughes’ 15-year-old son.
“We’re baseball friends, and we spent a lot of time together at games,” Hughes said. “You can see how close those kids are.”
Hughes said she has twin 9-year-old sons, and as she talked with them about Miranda’s death, she realized what Trinity will have to go through.
“I told Ben and Zach, we need to keep them in our prayers,” she said. “Trinity will have to do things without her sister now.”
Birchfield said services for Miranda will likely be held late next week.
A memorial fund has been set up for Miranda at Washington Mutual.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
