Carencro restaurant rallies around mother after daughter’s parking-lot death

The child was struck around 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 27, 2026, after a Halloween trunk-or-treat event. She died a short time after arriving at a hospital, Carencro Police Chief David Anderson told Acadiana News First. Walk-On’s identified her in a Facebook post; the restaurant’s announcement and a family fundraiser name her mother as Courtney Williams, an employee at the location.⁠3⁠4⁠9⁠13

By Wednesday, investigators had ruled out alcohol as a factor and had not identified wrongdoing, Anderson said. But those were preliminary findings, not a completed determination of responsibility. He said the investigation remained open and would take time.⁠3

Anderson’s account describes people nearby recognizing the danger and trying to get the driver’s attention. Several shouted, and someone sounded a horn from another vehicle. Those warnings did not prevent the collision. The chief said Ka’Mya had run into the vehicle’s path within the parking lot after the event, which he said had otherwise gone smoothly.⁠3

The driver was a woman traveling with her family: her husband was in the passenger seat, and their young children were in the back, Anderson said. He described the driver as unable to see Ka’Mya because the child was so small. That is the chief’s account of visibility during an investigation still underway, rather than a completed reconstruction establishing every circumstance of the crash.⁠3

“We definitely do not see any wrongdoing at this time during the investigation,” Anderson told Acadiana News First on October 28. He immediately qualified that assessment: “However, the investigation is still ongoing at this point and will be for some time.” He also said investigators had excluded alcohol the previous night.⁠3

Those distinctions matter. Ruling out alcohol answers one question; it does not, by itself, explain everything that happened in the parking lot. Nor does a preliminary statement that police have found no wrongdoing amount to a final investigative disposition. The available public reporting does not establish a citation, arrest or charging decision, and no completion date has been announced.⁠3⁠4

The loss reached directly into the restaurant’s staff. A manager confirmed to The Advocate that the child’s parent worked there. Walk-On’s announced its one-day closure around the time it would normally open Wednesday, saying it wanted to care for its team. The announcement was for that day, not an indefinite shutdown.⁠4⁠8

The restaurant also shared a GoFundMe on Wednesday to support Williams and her family. Organized by Janelle Dufrene and created October 28, the fundraiser seeks help with both funeral expenses and everyday living costs, allowing the family time to grieve and be together. Its purpose recognizes that household bills do not pause while a family mourns.⁠9⁠13

At approximately 09:17 UTC on October 29, the fundraiser displayed $25,618 raised through 558 donations. That is a snapshot, not a final total, and the number of donations counts contributions rather than necessarily representing 558 different people. No reliable fundraising target was visible.⁠13

Mayor Charlotte Stemmans Clavier offered condolences Wednesday and urged community support. “We cannot begin to understand what you are going through. I offer my heartfelt condolences,” she wrote in a message quoted by HOT 107.9. She also shared a verse from Psalm 34:18 and encouraged prayers for the family’s comfort.⁠9

With Halloween approaching on Saturday, October 31, Anderson urged parents to keep track of their children and use reflective clothing when walking outdoors after dark. His warning concerned neighborhood streets where families would be walking alongside moving traffic. It was general safety advice—not an investigative finding that Ka’Mya’s clothing or supervision caused the collision.⁠3

For now, the public account establishes a child’s death, unsuccessful efforts to warn a driver and an investigation that remains unfinished. The family’s needs are more immediate: arranging a funeral, meeting living expenses and having time together. Those are the needs the fundraiser and her mother’s coworkers are trying to meet while police continue their work.⁠3⁠9⁠13