A five-year-old boy suffered severe burns after being rescued from the rubble of an accident that killed his father and grandparents.
Nathaniel Rodríguez was traveling in a vehicle with his father, the man’s girlfriend, and grandparents when the car suddenly left the road and hit a tree stump, causing it to catch fire in San Bernardino, California, on March 15. December.
The boy was the only survivor and the firefighters who arrived at the scene had to remove him from the rubble.
The San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as Edgar Rodriguez, 35, of Victorville; Ramiro Rodriguez, 60, of Victorville; Maria Benitez Ramos, 62, of Victorville; and Melinda Perez, 44, of Hesperia, according to the Victorville Daily Press.
The incident, which occurred a day after the young man’s birthday, left him with burns on more than 50 percent of his body.
He suffered the worst damage to his arms and doctors at UC Irvine Medical Center were forced to amputate both of them below the elbow.
“You never think this can happen to you until it happens,” said Rodriguez’s mother, Adriana Shrem. ABC7. “It was very heartbreaking to know that my son was awake while he was practically on fire, his whole face, his hands.”
He also broke both legs in the accident and has already had multiple surgeries.
“He needs a specialist for his head, his eyes, his lips, and his condition remains the same: critical,” Shrem told the outlet.
Nathaniel Rodríguez was traveling in a vehicle with his father, his girlfriend, and his grandparents when it suddenly went off the road and hit a tree stump, causing it to catch fire in San Bernardino, California, on December 15.
‘It’s day to day. Every day after surgery is a blessing. That’s all I could ever want.’
Rodriguez has also developed mucormycosis, a serious fungal infection, which requires aggressive surgical management to prevent it from spreading to his face, according to a GoFundMe page.
The boy remains stable on a ventilator in a medically induced “coma,” however, he is still “critically ill.”
On Christmas Day, the fundraiser’s organizer also revealed that the child will likely also have to undergo a tracheostomy, which is a surgical process to place a tube into the windpipe to keep him safely connected to the ventilator later. of this week.
Tom DeBellis, battalion chief of the Colton Fire Department, recalled pulling the boy from the flames.
“There were just, you know, crying type noises that we could hear that alerted us that there was still someone in the vehicle,” he said.
“Being exposed to so much fire, heat and smoke, we wanted to get him straight to the hospital before anything worse happens to him.”
The incident, which took place a day after the young man’s birthday, left him with burns on more than 50 percent of his body.
He suffered the worst damage to his arms and doctors at UC Irvine Medical Center were forced to amputate both of them below the elbow.
He also broke both legs in the accident and has already had multiple surgeries.
The cause of the accident remains unknown.
So far, the crowdfunding page has raised $66,558 of its $75,000 goal.
‘(Don’t) take life for granted. Love those around you. If you have any animosity towards someone… just be happy.
“Life is too short and you never know what can happen in the blink of an eye,” added the heartbroken mother.