It’s been almost a year since a gas explosion took the life of 12-year-old Linda “Michellita” Rogers as she got ready for a cheerleading competition.
Now, her parents have decided to share cell phone footage from the moment she lost her life to honor the one-year anniversary of her death, according to Dallas News.
Mom Maria Rogers and the rest of her family were sleeping on February 23, 2018, as Michellita did her hair in the early morning for the All-Star National Championship.
The preteen filmed herself on her cell phone as she got ready for the big day. In footage shared by the family, she told the camera:
“Good morning, guys. It is 6:02 a.m. I’m going to get ready for … National Cheerleaders Association today.”
The 12-year-old is seen putting up her hair in a time-lapse video. Then, the screen goes ominously black.
Michellita happened to be filming the very moment the gas explosion ripped through her family’s Dallas home.
The child was found underneath dresser drawers and taken to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead.
Her parents survived the blast along with Michellita’s brother and grandmother.
The mom said the hair her daughter spent so much time working on was still intact when she saw her daughter’s body in the hospital. Maria said:
“I feel she is only sleeping. She looked beautiful.”
Maria, who has gone through physical and mental therapy since the blast, told Dallas News:
“Some days, I don’t feel the damage in my body. I feel the pain in my heart.”
The family is now suing Atmos Energy, the company that supplied natural gas to their home. The company knew about gas leaks in the area at least two months prior to the explosion.
In the days before February 23, fires broke at nearby homes possibly caused by the gas.
Now,Michellita’s family is seeking $1 million in damages following the loss of their daughter.
The family discovered the footage of their daughter on her cell phone, which was located in the rubble of their badly damaged home.
It’s unclear why they’ve decided to release the video publicly now.
