The family of the 9-year-old girl fatally struck by a vehicle after getting off a bus in Valencia this week has identified her as Anakaren Galvan.
Galvan had been filled with joy and excitement when she was hit by a car on her birthday, Oct. 24, according to a GoFundMe page created by her older sisters to help pay for funeral services. The collision occurred after the young girl got off the bus and apparently darted across traffic lanes, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Hudson.
Galvan was transported to a local hospital but passed 30 minutes later, authorities said.
She had been eagerly anticipating visiting her church to thank God for the gift of life, her family said.
“Anakaren being the little angel that she’s always been loved church,” her sisters wrote on the fundraising page. “That day all she wanted for her birthday was to go to church and give thanks to god for letting her see 9 years of life.”
Two days before the crash, Galvan was able to celebrate her ninth birthday surrounded by family and friends at an emoji-themed party, her family said.
They described her as a girl full of love and kindness who asked for books as gifts, attended church every week and “always wanted to help everyone in every way she could.”