'Every parent's nightmare'

Teacher steps up, gives CPR to boy hit by pickup

Fernando Quintero And Kari Craig, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, August 18, 2007

AURORA - The sight of a sobbing man holding his dying son in his arms was enough for Jennifer Elder to spring into action.

The 2-year-old boy was listed in serious condition Friday after he was hit by a truck Thursday night while crossing a street.

The boy, whom police have not identified because of his age, was lifeless when Elder rushed to the scene and administered CPR.

"We were outside of our condo on our deck when I heard a loud thud, and then screaming," said Elder, who lives in the same condominium complex as the boy's family.

Through the crowd that was gathering in the middle of the street, she saw the man cradling his son.

"His father was holding him . . . saying, 'My son, my son,' " said Elder.

"(The boy's) father was trying to administer CPR, but he was too emotional and was shaking the boy and telling him, 'Wake up.'

"I asked if I could help," said Elder, a special education teacher at Gateway High School in Aurora who put her CPR training to use for the first time.

She said the boy, who had bruises on his face and was bleeding from his nose, didn't have a pulse or heartbeat when she got to him.

After several chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the boy started to cough and Elder could feel his heartbeat.

"I then started talking to him. I told him everything was going to be OK, that help was on the way," she said.

Elder, who has three children, said it was instinctual for her to go to the boy's rescue.

"What happened to that little boy is every parent's nightmare. I saw this small child, and it's like my consciousness stepped aside and I went on auto-pilot," said Elder, 40.

Police said the accident occurred about 9 p.m. at the intersection of South Waco Way and East Kentucky Avenue, Aurora police said.

The father, an aunt and the boy were in their front yard when the father went across the street to talk with a neighbor, thinking that the boy was with the aunt, police said.

The aunt had gone inside the home, thinking the boy was following her.

A gray Mitsubishi pickup, traveling west on Kentucky, hit the boy when he crossed the street.

Elder said after the driver hit the boy, a family member ran in front of the truck and put his hand on the hood so that the driver could not flee.

The boy was taken to a localhospital for treatment and later was flown to Children's Hospital.

Police said the driver, whose name has not been released, is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol.

He was released pending toxicology results, which could take about two weeks, police said.