Left inset: Kiara Bowling (GoFundMe). Right inset: Kiara Bowling walking her friend’s dog right before she was mowed down by two young kids in Oakland, Calif. (KGO/YouTube). Background: The car that the kids who allegedly hit Kiara Bowling were driving (KGO/YouTube).
A California woman is learning to walk and speak again after she was nearly killed by two random kids, ages 7 and 4, who allegedly took their parents’ car and plowed into her while she was walking a dog.
“Kiara is facing a lifelong recovery,” a GoFundMe says about Kiara Bowling, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in the “devastating accident” last month, which was allegedly caused by two brothers from Oakland.
Bowling’s family spoke to local ABC affiliate KGO this week about her fight to survive and ongoing recovery. The boys who mowed the 31-year-old down allegedly stole their parents’ keys while they were sleeping. They hit Bowling as she was walking a friend’s dog, KGO reports.
When paramedics arrived at the scene, Bowling was lying on the sidewalk without a pulse, according to her relatives.
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“It has turned really the family’s life upside down,” said Karon Markham, Bowling’s aunt.
“She doesn’t say much about the hospital itself,” Markham told KGO. “She knows she was injured. And I know it’s hard on her because she’s used to living her best life.”
Referring to Bowling as a “walking miracle,” Markham described how the family had feared the worst after what happened.
“What a blessing,” Markham said. “We didn’t even know that she would make it one month … and she’s up walking. She’s able to speak. She’s learning. She’s moving forward.”
Bowling was in her final semester at Cal State East Bay, had recently been selected as Miss California Regency International 2026, and was working toward a pre-law degree before she was struck. She had also completed a summer program for Harvard and was hoping to get into Harvard Law.
“She was really excited about that,” Markham said.
Now, Bowling faces a recovery that doctors estimate could take about two years as she works to regain skills that once came naturally.
“She has a long recovery. And she’s getting there,” Markham said. “Small steps.”
The Oakland Police Department is investigating the crash, and the boys’ parents are cooperating with authorities, according to KGO.
The post Woman has to relearn how to walk and speak again after random kids, ages 7 and 4, mowed her down with their parents’ car as she walked dog: Family first appeared on Law & Crime.
