BLACKSBURG, Va. – 5-year-old Jackie Rose is back home recovering from serious injuries after he was hit by a car.
It happened Friday October 11th while he was outside his home playing football near the road. His dad Martin was home at the time.
“I knew my baby got hit,” said Martin Rose. “I turned to see the other two boys I was watching at the time and as soon as I did that all of a sudden, I heard ‘thunk, thump.’ I turned back and the pizza man was on my kid.”
He said normally their road has little traffic, so it’s common for children to be out in the yards or playing in the road. He said his kids know to be aware of passing cars.
“When a car comes, they get out of the way,” Martin said.
But this time, it was too late.
“Once I got here, I saw two ambulances, and multiple police cars,” said Kristina Brian, Jackie’s grandmother. “I saw a group surrounding my son and he came running at me and saying Kackie had been hit and I was just like ‘what?’”
Because of his serious injuries, Jackie was flown to Roanoke Memorial.
“When I actually got there and saw him my heart just broke,” said Kristina. “We’re thankful he doesn’t have any major broken bones, but he does have 3 fractures in his pelvis. He has a laceration on his bottom lip that had to have stitches, and his mouth was so swollen we thought he had lost all his upper teeth, but he only lost one.”
I talked to one of the neighbors who sat with Jackie after the accident while he was waiting for the ambulance and she said she could not believe it.
“I come running outside and they are right there,” said Amy Viars. “He’s all bloody and I’m like ‘oh, my gosh’.”
Jackie is now home with his family while he heals from his injuries. He is able to walk but not stand for long periods of time. His family said they are just grateful it wasn’t worse.