The father of a seven-year-old girl who was severely burned in a road rage incident earlier this month said Thursday that seeing his daughter suffer through the trauma is heartbreaking for his entire family.
“I’m here to get some answers on behalf of my daughter,” Fahim Mirza said.
Mirza said his daughter cries and often wakes up in the middle of the night both because of the pain and out of fear.
He said a few days ago, his daughter asked her grandfather, “Am I not beautiful anymore?”
“That was… we had to pause and see what can we answer? It was very heart wrenching,” he said.
The young girl was sitting in the back seat of her father’s car at around 11:45 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15 in the area of 39 Avenue and 36 Street N.E., when he came upon a sedan that reportedly went through a red light and into the path of his car.
Mirza was heading east on 39 Avenue N.E. at the time, on his way home, and was forced to abruptly brake. The man honked his horn at the car that reportedly ran the red light.
Both vehicles came to a stop at a red light at the intersection of 39 Avenue and 36 Street N.E. Police said a man exited the backseat of the silver sedan and threw a hot beverage through an open window in the victim’s car. The hot beverage missed the Mirza and hit his seven-year-old daughter, who suffered what police said were significant burns to her face and shoulder.
The girl was taken to hospital where she was treated for second-degree burns and released.
“Every day when you look at your child’s face and see those marks, it hurts,” Mirza said. “So I hope that somebody who has some kind of information or even [the suspect] comes up and admits [they were] at fault.”
Mirza said the situation has been difficult for his entire family, adding the girl’s younger brother, who was in the back seat as well, has also been afraid. He said he also had a nine-month-old baby in the back of the vehicle at the time.
The father said the incident happened within about 30 seconds. He said the hot beverage was a cup of green tea.
The silver vehicle drove off from the scene, police said, and investigators are looking to the public to help identify who might have been responsible.
Both Mirza and police are pleading with the people in the vehicle to come forward themselves.
“How can you see and hear everything and not feel guilty about it? That’s the basic question that comes up to mind,” Mirza said.
“You don’t have guts to face that seven-year-old girl?”
Acting Staff Sgt. Lon Brewster said he’s hoping the suspect’s better nature will prompt them to come forward to police.
“I would say that somebody who’s roughly 60 years old likely has children of their own — put yourself in this man’s position,” he said.
“I have children. I have kids. And that would break my heart. So I think we need to speak to their better nature and say, ‘In the heat of the moment a decision was made out of anger, we understand that, but now it’s time to come and tell your story and stand up for those consequences, unfortunately.'”
The driver of the four-door sedan is believed to be a man in his 20s with a black beard. The passenger is believed to be a man in his 60s with white facial hair. The man who got out of the vehicle and allegedly threw the hot beverage is believed to be in his early 20s, about five-foot-eight with a solid build. Police said he was wearing a white T-shirt and a hat at the time of the incident.
Anyone with information about the road rage incident is asked to call the police non-emergency line at 403-266-1234 or leave a tip anonymously with Crime Stoppers.