Little girl's nightmares may provide clues on mother’s death
The nightmares of a four-year-old girl may be the key to discovering what really happened on the day her mother died in a tragic car crash.
Natali Castellanos-Tyler, 30, was returning home from a birthday party on February 21, when her Ford Explorer supposedly slid off a road and struck several trees in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
While the mother of three died at the scene, her daughter Elisa, who was sitting in the backseat, only suffered small wounds.
Her husband Craig Tyler told WTVR that while Elisa’s wounds are healing, her emotional scares are only getting worse.
Since the crash Elisa has been having a reoccurring nightmare about a white van.
“The nightmares were in the nighttime and now they’re coming into the day,” Mr Tyler said.
“She’ll just start walking and she’ll start screaming "the van, the white van!”"
He noted that doctors were baffled by Elisa’s consistent episode and added that when he questioned his daughter about what happened with the van she said: “It hurt me, it hurt my car!”
Her nightmares, combined with Facebook posts reporting several hit and run accidents involving a white delivery-type truck in neighboring areas, have made Mr Tyler question what happened on the day his wife died.
One resident, Subasree Thompson, said she was sideswiped by a white box truck on March 30 while her three-year-old daughter was in her car.
A 17-year-old student at Cosby High School, Caitlyn Thomas, claimed she was also sideswiped by a white box truck one day later on the same road.
Then, on April 3, a bus filled with Cosby High School students supposedly got sideswiped by a white truck, according to Miss Thomas’ mother.
However, Chesterfield County Police said they had only received one report for a hit-and-run crash involving a white truck.
Police told WTVR they still think Elisa’s mother died in a one-car collision.
“To reiterate, there is no physical evidence that another vehicle was involved in the fatal crash on Feb. 21,” they said.
Mr Tyler said he was putting his trust in the police investigation but noted his daughter’s nightmares were too vivid to ignore.
“Ever since we doubted that there was more at play except weather, we have all just been praying for the truth to come out,” he said.
National news break – April 23
