Father hopes daughter’s incident serves as example

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MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58) – A father who almost lost his daughter took to social media to post a powerful message for every parent and teenager.

Qua’vana Harris was in a stolen vehicle when it crashed.

While she survived, a 17-year-old was killed in the crash. Now, the surviving girl’s father is going public, hoping to help others.

The crash happened near Fond Du Lac and Locust Sunday (Dec. 17th) evening.

Officers were chasing a stolen vehicle they say was taken in a carjacking from a 57-year-old woman by three suspects.

Officers lost sight of the car but a few minutes later it crashed.

“I’ve been seeing this on for the past couple of years,” says Howard Harris referring to car thefts and crashes. “But when it hits close to home, I just felt as a parent, I could use my daughter’s situation to help other kids.”

Howard’s 15-year-old daughter was one of the suspects in that stolen vehicle who’s now recovering from a fractured vertebrae in her neck, pelvis fractures, and internal bleeding.

“It’s okay to say that our kids are wrong,” says Harris. “It’s okay to let them know that they’ve done something wrong, but still be their defense mechanism.”

Harris describes his daughter as coming from a supportive household. As for Sunday night, he’s not sure what would have caused her to get into a stolen vehicle. But, he hopes it’ll serve as a lesson.

“She just broke down crying and she told me, dad, I should have listened to you,” says Howard.

That’s why Howard took to social media sharing images of his daughter in the hospital bed and neck brace.

“That’s the big lesson,” says Howard. “You guys are out here getting into stolen cars, taking the police on high speed chases. You’re costing your life, the lives of the people in the car, and lives of people who are innocent.”

The post also encourages parents to talk to their kids about the issue in hopes of saving lives.

“I just want you kids to wake up and understand that this epidemic that’s going on is not cool.”

Howard says they’ve been told healing will take time for Qua’vana. She is now having to learn how to walk all over again but did manage to take her first few steps on Wednesday.

As for the 17-year-old, who did not walk away from the crash, his autopsy is still pending.

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