8-year-old cheerleader back on the mat 14 months after crash, devastating brain injury

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read

An 8-year-old girl who suffered a traumatic brain injury during a crash is now working hard to get back to cheerleading.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was in DeKalb County Friday at the gym where Leyla Askew used to train. A year ago, doctors said she may never be able to compete again.

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She competed in several cheer competitions before the accident and she was part of the team when they won three championships.

Leyla was injured in a crash on I-85 South in Chamblee just two days before Christmas in 2022. Her mother, Ashley Marion, said that the family car broke down on the highway, so she let the car drift to the to the HOV lane and stop on the left shoulder, which is when a woman slammed into their car.

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For the last 14 months, she’s been recovering, and doctors say she is nothing short of a miracle. Doctors told her they didn’t know if Leyla would ever be able to do a back handspring again.

But on Friday, Leyla showed Fernandes that she still can.

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Fernandes first interviewed the family right after the crash when Leyla was in a coma. Back then, she was devastated.

“I’m grateful God has brought her as far as he’s brought her and I know her story isn’t done,” her mother said. “She still has more hearts to touch - more lives to let know about her situation and how she’s overcome it and I’m just thankful, she’s our Leyla Bug.”

Leyla’s parents try not to think about the crash that changed their lives, especially because police haven’t arrested the driver who caused it.

Now, they can see the beauty in something they thought would tear their family apart.

“It also did something beautiful. She came back stronger. She came back fighting. And I watch her every day and it’s like, she gives me strength to fight,” Ashley Askew said. “And every time I see her fight, I fight harder.”

Leyla is currently on a cheer team that fits in with her recovery. She has dreams of coming back to cheer with what she calls “the home team.”