6-year-old child injured in Round Rock crash; driver arrested for DWI
AUSTIN, Texas - A 6-year-old girl is in critical condition after being involved in a three-vehicle crash on I-35. Round Rock police say the crash was caused by a drunk driver.
After speeding on I-35, a white Dodge truck was caught on dash cam slamming into a car causing it to crimple into the back of an 18-wheeler truck. The Dodge ended up on top of the car.
The crash caused traffic to stop in its tracks and bystanders to hop out of their own vehicles on the highway.
"I didn't even hesitate. I didn't think," said one bystander to FOX 7 Austin.
This man who spoke to FOX 7 Austin anonymously by the phone says he was one of those bystanders who jumped into action while his three kids sat in the car.
"Me and the bystanders got the guy to back the truck off of the car. We were able to get the mom out of the vehicle, and we didn't know there was anybody else in the car at that time," he said.
The mom then told him a little girl was still trapped in the car.
"She just started to scream bloody murder that ‘my baby girl is in the car,’" he said.
The car was so smashed that he didn't believe anyone could still be inside until he and a few others broke through the driver’s side window and saw her. It's an image he says will remain burned in his memory forever.
"I was basically able to fairly see a little patch of skin and face and blonde hair and that's when I just almost started to puke myself," he said.
He decided not to move her from the car because he was afraid to make it worse, but he and other bystanders were able to direct traffic to get law enforcement to the girl. The 6-year-old was then taken to the hospital where she had to undergo emergency brain surgery.
Pedro Jaimes Suarez was arrested on scene and charged with intoxication assault.
A GoFundMe put up in her name confirms the crash resulted in her having a fractured skull and spine, damage to her right optic nerve, and a traumatic brain injury.
"To find out this girl was alive, that had to be God right there, covering her up with his body wrapped around her. There's no other way about it," he said.
The driver of the Dodge truck was identified by Round Rock police as Pedro Jaimes Suarez.
Suarez was arrested on scene and charged with intoxication assault.
"Just to know that he was drunk and careless like that, it just makes me sick to my stomach and so, so disgusted," said the bystander.
Although the situation has deeply impacted this man who helped the little girl, he says he would not change how he responded at all.
"I hate what I have seen because I don't think I'll ever forget it, but I would do it again in a heartbeat because, you know, at the end of the day, black, white, drug addict or a lawyer, you know, it's a human life, and it's very valuable," he said.