NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A 5-year-old girl involved in a multi-vehicle crash Friday night succumbed to her injuries Wednesday afternoon, Virginia State Police confirmed.

A nurse who witnessed the crash tried to save the little girl’s life.

Fredericksburg nurse Ashley Whitten was on vacation in Virginia Beach for the weekend with her husband, Joel. They decided to extend their trip, which led them to be on the road at the exact moment the crash happened.

“We saw a bunch of cars with their hazards on that were going to the right,” Ashley Whitten said. “So my husband immediately pulled over. We were hearing yelling and screaming like, “My baby, my baby!”

Ashley Whitten said she soon came across a man asking for help with his daughter, who was in a car involved in a head-on collision.  The 5-year-old was ejected from a car seat due to not being properly strapped in, according to Virginia State Police.

“There was a little girl that appeared to be 5-years-old,” she said. “She was unconscious, she started gasping for air, and she didn’t appear to have a pulse.”

Immediately, Whitten began performing lifesaving CPR on the child. 

“I did CPR on her for approximately 8 to10 minutes,” Whitten said. “I just did everything I could do, and from what I saw, signs that I saw with the little girl, I just tried to save her life.”

According to Joel Whitten, paramedics on scene said Ashley Whitten’s quick thinking and response was the difference in keeping the 5-year-old alive at the time.  

“One of the EMS workers had said when he arrived to the scene that he saw that she [Ashley Whitten] had it under control,” Joel Whitten said. “When the ambulance did get there, they let her continue CPR as they were getting the stretcher and the backboard out.” 

Ashley Whitten said she was able to get a pulse back before the child was taken to the hospital.

“Once we got that backboard, we got her on the stretcher, and they immediately got her in that ambulance and took her away,” she said. “I’m just really hoping that she’s OK — I’m praying for her. Reflecting back, I think God just put us in that spot at the right time for me to be able to help her.” 

Despite all of the efforts to save the child’s life, The Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters in Norfolk notified state police Wednesday afternoon that the 5-year-old succumbed to her injuries.

Several other people were injured in the June 20 crash, state police said. They did not provide the extent of their injuries.

Charges are pending.