Aurora – Nikko Landeros and Tyler Carron are moving toward their new lives.
Landeros took a spin Tuesday in the family SUV using hand controls specially designed for a double amputee. Carron, meanwhile, got a new set of feet that he will use when he walks across the stage at Berthoud High School on June 2 to get his diploma.
Carron, who just turned 18, said he refused to consider accepting his diploma while in a wheelchair. “I don’t want to be looking up at anyone,” Carron said. “I want to look people in the eye.”
Their legs were crushed Jan. 15 when a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by classmate Michelle Berra ran into them while they were removing a spare tire from the tailgate of an Isuzu Trooper.
Landeros and Carron, close friends and teammates on the Berthoud wrestling team, both lost their legs below their knees.
Berra is facing two counts of careless driving. Berra’s lawyer claims Landeros and Carron were at least partly to blame for the accident, saying both had been drinking and obstructed their vehicle’s taillights when they stood behind the vehicle.
Family members for Landeros and Carron declined to comment on the allegations, saying they want the two to concentrate on their recovery.
Both have been learning to walk on custom-made, computerized artificial legs and are making remarkable progress, said Sylvia Boedeker, staff physical therapist at Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Carron’s work Tuesday was especially heartening, said Boedeker, who supported Carron as he walked the halls of Spalding for an hour session. “He’s got great balance and strength,” she said. “His youth and determination is helping out a lot.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
