Cedar City mourns 7-year-old Allison

CEDAR CITY — Allison Sousa loved to show up at her dad's work every day after school and nibble on sweets.

"It was her job to eat all the candy in the candy dish," said Joy Denmark, vice president of Cedar Valley Truss, where Sousa's father, Kenny, has worked for more than nine years. "Allie was loved by a lot of people here."

Allison, 7, a petite, dark-haired child with a bubbly personality, died Tuesday morning not far from her father's workplace in a freak accident witnessed by two students who attend Cross Hollows Intermediate School.

The girl was waiting at her bus stop on Iron Springs Road, just off U-59 when one of her aunts stopped to pick up mail at the cluster box placed just off the roadway. Allison apparently opened the rear passenger side door and asked for a ride to school, which her aunt Patricia Hilliard said she couldn't give her because she wasn't going into town.

But when Allison closed the car door, the sleeve of her coat became caught in the door frame and Hilliard drove off, unaware her niece was running alongside the vehicle.

The boy and girl waiting at the stop tried to chase Hilliard down, Iron County sheriff's detective Jody Edwards said. Hilliard was driving a gray 2003 Nissan Altima with the radio on and apparently didn't notice anything wrong, he said.

The driver of a semitrailer truck, who was traveling in the opposite direction, also noticed the little girl being dragged at the side of Hilliard's vehicle, Edwards said.

"He laid on the horn and flashed his lights for all he was worth, but she didn't stop," Edwards said. "He also pulled the button to lock up his rig and then he jumped out and started chasing her down the street. That's what finally got her attention."

By the time Hilliard pulled over, she had driven 3 1/2 miles from the bus stop at speeds of up to 65 mph on U-59.

Hilliard placed Allison's body on her lap, turned around and drove to Cedar Valley Truss, where she also works cleaning the offices.

The boy who witnessed the accident had already run back toward the business and called 911. Allison Sousa's father, Kenny, is employed at the truss plant as a safety monitor. Patricia Hilliard is Kenny Sousa's sister.

Allison was pronounced dead by the sheriff's deputy who arrived first on the scene. The deputy is also an emergency medical technician and could not get a pulse, Edwards said.