After beating brain cancer, Pender County teen begins recovery from devastating crash

August 7, 2026

Bryan Alonso,

Aniya Moore recovering in the hospital after a car crash accident — Photo Courtesy: Bernadine Munn

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Pender County teenager who overcame brain cancer and was preparing to begin college is now facing another major challenge after a serious crash.

It was a regular afternoon for Pender High School graduate Aniya Moore as she headed home. Then, in an instant, her life changed.

Moore was seriously injured in a crash near Piney Woods Road.

“Honestly, I don’t remember anything,” Moore said. “From July 26, I don’t even remember being woken up in the hospital. And then they told me I was in an accident.”

Moore’s mother, Bernadine Munn, said the family still does not know exactly what caused the crash.

But an alert from the Life360 app helped the family learn that Moore had been in an accident.

“We got a call from Life360 that she had been in a crash,” Munn said. “And it said that her watch called 911.”

Moore spent about two weeks in the hospital and is now facing surgery and rehabilitation. Her family expects rehabilitation could last 10 to 14 days.

Despite the long recovery ahead, Moore is already looking toward her future.

“I want to be a pediatric oncologist nurse,” she said.

That goal is personal for Moore, who is a cancer survivor. She previously recovered from medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor.

Now, Moore wants to use her experience to help other children facing cancer.

“I want to give back to the community and be like the people who helped me.”

Her next step is rehabilitation, followed by a return to the future she has been working toward.

Munn said Moore was accepted into the nursing program at Fayetteville State University.

The crash may delay Moore’s start, but her mother said it will not stop her from pursuing her goal.

“She might not start with this fall session, but she will be there with the winter session,” Munn said. “We’re going to try to take some online classes, so she won’t be so far behind.”

If you would like to help Aniya Moore throughout her journey, you can visit her GoFundMe page.