Teen impaled by handlebar was left in bushes — but survived the hit-and-run, mom says
Thirteen-year-old Aaron Martin was riding his brother’s bike when a car struck him from behind, the Omaha Police Department told KETV. The impact from the crash lodged the bike handlebar into his stomach.
He had been impaled while riding the bike around a median to go back home at about 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, police told WOWT.
But after Martin was hit, the driver left the neighborhood and turned it into a hit-and-run crash, according to KMA.
“The person just left Aaron laying on the ground” in the bushes, his mom, Candy Jones, said, according to KETV.
“What type of coward hits a child and takes off leaving this defenseless child laying on the ground,” she posted to Facebook.
While lying in the bushes, Martin called out, “ ‘Help me. Call an ambulance. I got hit,’ ” he told WOWT. Fortunately, a couple saw the teen on the median — and in the bushes — and called 911, the station reported.
He was taken to a hospital and needed emergency surgery, KMA reported.
“The doctor was able to stick his whole hand into Aaron’s stomach,” his mom said, according to KETV.
The surgery went well, his mom told KETV, and Martin was able to go home on Sunday. He is even already back on the new bike that firefighters gave him after the crash.
“He escaped and I was an accomplice,” Candy Jones posted.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses. Candy Jones said the health insurance she had ended Tuesday, just three days after the crash.
Police told KMA the department is investigating the hit-and-run crash.
Earlier this year, 6-year-old Denny Curran in Washington was fatally impaled by his bike handlebar while riding down a hill. The handlebar went through his abdomen.
His dad, Keith Curran, is now warning parents about the dangers of bike handlebars.
“Hold your child... a little tighter today... then go out and take a look at the bicycle that they ride, investigate the handlebars and the grips,” Curran said, according to KNDU.
This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Teen impaled by handlebar was left in bushes — but survived the hit-and-run, mom says."