A mother who told her daughter to crawl underneath a train, resulting in her death, has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Joy Frances Collins has been found guilty of her role in the shocking incident that occurred in December 2018 in Fresno, California. Prosecutors believe Collins instructed her eight-year-old daughter, Joyanna Harris, to crawl under an idling train in order to reach a bus on the other side of the tracks. Collins reportedly told the child to “hurry up.” The train had stalled for a mere 12 seconds, blocking the family from getting to their bus. Tragically, Harris was killed once the train began moving with her still underneath it. Her nine-year-old brother had also crawled under the train and barely escaped to the other side.
Authorities believe Collins had forced her children to crawl under the tracks in the past in order to catch their bus. For this reason, Collins was charged with child abuse and endangerment and found guilty in October 2023. On Tuesday, Collins learned her fate and pleaded for the judge to have mercy on her.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret any of that, and I do. And I beg for your mercy so I won’t have to go into a prison,” she pleaded, though this fell on deaf ears, and she ultimately received six years.
Her son is now living with his grandparents.
