Rose Parade Honoring Lake Elsinore Girl Killed In Crash

A 5-year-old Lake Elsinore girl who died in a 2006 car crash will be honored during the 2012 Rose Parade.

Sierra Lynn Heidrich’s portrait will be showcased for 47 millions viewers through a “floraportrait” on the Donate Life float in the upcoming parade in Pasadena. She is one of 72 people featured on the float who, through death, gave life to others with organ donation.

The portraits of the 72 donors from 31 states, Canada, Japan and Taiwan are part of the Donate Life float theme, One More Day. Their images, each made entirely of organic floral materials, will be featured on huge floral timepieces on the float to remind that life is not forever.

On December 10, 2006, Sierra was with her family as they drove home from a friend's house. Two minutes from home, they we were hit head-on by a drunk driver.

Sierra was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where she was hospitalized for 11 days.

When her family learned Sierra was brain dead, they made the decision to donate her organs.

More than 28,000 lives are saved each year in the U.S. through the gift of organ donation, and more than 112,000 people are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant, according to a Donate Life/OneLegacy news release. In addition, every year hundreds of thousands of people need donated corneas and tissue to prevent or cure blindness, heal burns or save limbs, according to the news release.

“Every donor counts when the waiting list for life-saving organs continues to grow while the circumstances for organ donation to be possible are so rare,” said Bryan Stewart, chairman of the Donate Life float committee and vice president of communications at OneLegacy, the nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization serving the greater Los Angeles area. “By honoring these 72 individuals, we hope to remind people that donors have the power to save up to eight lives and heal 50 more through organ, eye and tissue donation. We can all make a difference by joining their state donor registries.”

The floragraphs will be decorated before Christmas in Pasadena, and many of the portraits will be completed by family members. The 2012 Donate Life float is built by Phoenix Decorating Co.