CEDAR CITY, Utah — A community is rallying around a middle school student who's undergoing surgery more than 200 miles away after being struck by a vehicle near her school.
The Utah Highway Patrol is still investigating the auto-pedestrian collision that took place around 8:38 a.m. Friday, where they said Trinity Dorris was hit while crossing Interstate 15.
The UHP said it is still trying to determine if one or two vehicles hit Dorris.
It was between the first and second periods at Canyon View Middle School, which sits right next to I-15.
She was airlifted twice: first to St. George Regional Medical Center, then to Primary Children’s Hospital.
Trinity's family said she underwent a successful three-hour surgery at the University of Utah Hospital Monday evening to repair a fractured pelvis. She has been in critical, but stable, condition, not regaining full consciousness since the crash but still responsive.
She also suffered a blood clot in the crash.
Lori Mosley, the director of the Iron County Cinderella Miss pageant, met the Dorris family about nine years ago when they moved to the area from Oregon. All three Dorris daughters had participated in the pageant over the years.
"Trinity would come up short each time. She'd be like the first runner up,” Mosley said. "There were a couple of times that she said, 'I just don't want to do it anymore because I can't win.' And we just kept saying, 'but you never know when it's gonna be your turn.'
"These girls and their moms just become our best friends."
Last year, it was Trinity's turn to shine, and she "came into her own and figured out how to glow," Mosley said.
It wasn’t a surprise to Jennifer Christiansen, who teaches at the Middle School.
"Trinity was in my sixth-grade class a couple years ago, and she's just smart, quiet, humble, but just one of the sweetest people," Christiansen said.
On Friday morning before class, the 14-year-old eighth grader was crossing I-15, which borders Canyon View Middle School, when she was hit.
As Dorris hasn’t been fully conscious as of yet, officer say they aren’t sure why Dorris was crossing the interstate.
This is not the first tragedy the Dorris family has faced.
Their son Charles Jr. died in 2021 under circumstances that family and friends say they prefer not to discuss.
The father, a veteran who served in Afghanistan, is still recovering from a fall down a 50-foot mineshaft back in November.
But now, the community is rallying behind the Dorris family. Lori Mosley has created a group called "Trinity's Army," and community members and businesses are raising money and providing meals for the family.
They are asking people to donate directly to a Venmo account (@CharlesNBridget-Dorris).
Mosley says a fake Venmo account has appeared posing as the family. She says the actual Venmo account has no picture.
"The thing with this family that people need to understand is they will give you the shirt off their back and two more shirts from the drawer,” Moseley said. “They are the first to be there to help people."
She said the same goes for Cedar City as a whole.
"Cedar City is, honestly, known for coming together when there's tragedy. And I've seen time and time again, this community come together for not just kids, but adults, just people that are injured, people that have tragic moments in their life."
