Toddler Survives Crash That Killed Parents

A head-on collision in Alaska last week left a toddler orphaned and recovering.

Alaska State Troopers said 38-year-old Sasha Hart was driving a Subaru Forester south on the Parks Highway near Trapper Creek on Oct. 19 when the vehicle crossed the center line and struck a northbound Ford F-250. Sasha Hart and her husband, 41-year-old David Hart, were both killed in the wreck. Their 2-year-old daughter, Paige, who was in the Subaru, survived.

The couple had lived in Fairbanks and marked 10 years of marriage, according to family members. Shery Elterman-Hart, David Hart's sister, said Sasha Hart settled into the family after she and David met. "She just became one of us," Elterman-Hart said. Family members said the pair traveled, watched hockey and shared an interest in food, but that parenting took priority. "She was their entire world," said Katie Ragsdale, another of David Hart's sisters.

Elterman-Hart held Paige during an interview and described her survival. "She's a miracle. Aren't you?" she said. Family members said Paige has recovered quickly from six broken bones sustained in the crash. They also noted she carries traits of both parents, including her mother's "stink" face and her father's sweet tooth. "You still have a piece of them, a living piece of them still on Earth," Ragsdale said.

No information about funeral arrangements or memorial services was included in the family's account.