Corona bottle attack on 5-year-old girl: 'Doctors told me...she could die'

CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A 5-year-old Corona girl who was struck in the head with a glass bottle, which fractured her skull, is now recovering at home. Doctors initially told her family the child could die within hours of the attack.

"The doctors told me, at the moment when she was being tested, that she could die within hours. We weren't sure," said the child's sister, Dulse Herrera.

Dulse recalled the terrifying moment not knowing if her little sister, Karla Zosayas, would survive the night.

Friday afternoon, the kindergartner was struck in the head by a glass bottle that had been thrown at her and her siblings by a passing motorist.

It happened while Karla was walking home from school along Lincoln Avenue in Corona. The impact from the bottle fractured her skull and put her in the hospital.

"I didn't know what was going to happen to her. I didn't know if she was going to wake up. I didn't know if she was going to be OK, if she was even going to know who I was," Dulse shared.

Despite the trauma she suffered, Karla was released on Sunday and is recovering at home.

"They said the brain had minimal bleeding at the moment, so they were just going to see what's going to happen next," Dulse said.

On Monday, Karla was set to graduate from kindergarten but had to skip the festivities.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family offset some of the medical costs, including a follow-up visit she'll need for a fractured vertebrae.

Her father, Carlos Zosayas, is asking for the community to help identify his daughter's attacker.

In Spanish, he said the person has no conscience and almost killed his daughter.

The Corona Police Department is searching for the driver and vehicle, which is described as a large silver or gray SUV, possibly a Chevrolet Tahoe.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Corona Police Department's Tip Line at 951-817-5837.