"My Husband Accidentally Killed Our 2-Year-Old Daughter: Her Heartbreaking Scream Will Haunt Me Forever"

IT’S been three years since Trish Paia lost her darling daughter after she was killed by her step-dad in a horrific accident.

But even today the mum-of-two is haunted by her daughter’s ‘howling scream’ moments before she was crushed.

Two-year-old Kaleleioleilani, known to friends and family as Kalelei, was killed in April 2023.

Kalelei’s step-dad McKay Wright, 40, had been landscaping the back garden when the tot walked behind the equipment and was .

First responders performed medical care on Kalelei, but she died from her injuries.

Kalelei’s death was recorded as a tragic accident, and McKay was never charged, but the Spanish Fork Police report states he was over the legal limit for alcohol.

In Utah, the legal limit is 0.05%, and a toxicology report showed McKay had 0.06% of ethanol in his system.

The stay-at-home mum-of-four, from Spanish Fork, , said: “When I lost my daughter, my whole world was flipped upside down.

“I was in complete shock; I’ve never seen something so horrific.

“The aftermath of what happened to her looked like something you only see in horror movies.”

Trish and Kalelei had a special bond, and the toddler had a very “bubbly personality”.

“She was very adventurous; she loved the outdoors, she loved animals,” Trish said.

“She was such a mummy’s girl.”

On Saturday, April 29, 2023, Trish was cleaning the staircase with the help of a friend when she heard a scream.

“I was filling the sink with a cleaner, as my middle child had got Capri Sun all over the walls,” she said.

“It wasn’t like a scream for help; it was like a howling scream.”

Kalelei had been in the kitchen with Trish, but had wandered outside when Trish turned her back to focus on the cleaning.

Trish and her friend ran downstairs and saw McKay standing at the back door, holding Kalelei in his arms.

McKay had been using a mini skid loader (a hydraulically powered construction machine designed for manoeuvring in tight spaces) to install a patio in their nine-by-eight-foot back garden.

Kalelei had walked behind the equipment before McKay accidentally ran her over, police said.

After calling the emergency services Trish ran over to her neighbour’s house to ask them to look after her two older children, who were still in the house.

Spanish Fork police said that at 12:53 pm, they received a report of a child run over by a piece of equipment.

Sadly, medics at the scene couldn’t save her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

“All I could think about in the moment was protecting my children from seeing anything, and preventing them from being affected,” Trish said.

“Losing her was absolutely devastating; I lost my sense of purpose, and my life was a blur for a very long time afterwards”.

A police report following the incident states that officers noticed a 12oz can of Michelob Ultra beer on the barbecue that smelled of alcohol, still had liquid in it, and was cold to touch.

Officers also report that they could smell alcohol on McKay’s breath when questioning him about the incident.

Police asked McKay to do a blood test, which showed he was over the legal driving limit.

“They said they didn’t know what to do, as they couldn’t give him a for driving landscaping equipment in his own backyard,” Trish claimed.

“I think if you’re drive anything with a motor in it should be a DUI, and if not, he should have been done for negligence.”

Following the investigation, Kalelei’s death was deemed a tragic accident, and the case was closed.

Trish and McKay separated before filing for divorce.

Trish believes that McKay should have been charged for having alcohol in his system, and thinks that more should have been done to get justice for her daughter.

She is planning on pursuing legal action against the police for their handling of the incident, and is campaigning for stricter legislation on drinking alcohol whilst operating heavy machinery.

Spanish Fork Police have been approached for comment.