Pop singer Britney Spears has urged fans to continue to pray for her 8-year-old niece and Jamie Lynn Spears' daughter, Maddie, as the little girl remains in critical condition following an ATV accident, sparking the hashtag #PrayforMaddie.
On Monday, Spears posted a photo of Jamie Lynn's daughter on Instagram and wrote, "Need all the wishes and prayers for my niece." Minutes after Spears' request, hundreds took to social media to offer well-wishes and prayers for the little girl using the hashtag #PrayforMaddie.
"@jamielynnspears God will guide you through this difficult time. My prayers with you and queen maddie," wrote one Twitter user.
"Praying for you Jamie Lynn Spears! I know how much your daughter means to you!!!" wrote another.
Maddie's grandfather-and Jamie Lynn's father-Jamie Spears, also asked fans to life the little girl up in prayer: "All I can say is pray for our baby Maddie," he said in a statement.
According to a statement by Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards, the accident occurred shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Maddie was apparently steering the Polaris ATV about 100 yards from Spears and her husband, Maddie's stepfather Jamie Watson, when she took a hard right to avoid running over a nearby drainage ditch.
"In doing so, she overcorrected causing the ATV to enter the pond," the report reads. "The ATV and child were instantly submerged in the water right before their eyes."
"Within seconds the child's mother, stepfather and other family members reached the pond, dove in and attempted to rescue the child to no avail," reads the report. "The child was trapped and secured by the seatbelt and the ATV's safety netting. Within two minutes, Acadian Ambulance Services arrived and assisted in freeing the child from the cold waters."
Maddie is currently in stable but critical condition at a Louisiana hospital.
"This is an extremely tragic accident," the report also states, before asking for both prayers and privacy for the family.
Jamie Lynn Spears, a former child star, welcomed her daughter in 2008 when she was just 16 years old. Two years later, she split from Maddie's dad, Casey Aldridge, and moved to Nashville to pursue her dreams as a singer-songwriter.
She previously opened up about raising her daughter, telling People, "She's got such a sweet little heart. I feel like I've raised her with a lot of honesty, but I've also raised her with a lot of love. She's a very happy, content little girl, and there's nothing more a parent could ask for. That's my most proud accomplishment out of anything and always will be."
Jeff Raymond, a publicist for Jamie Lynn Spears, said the family is asking for people to "respect their privacy during this time and appreciates all the prayers and support for their family."
