Aurora – Police said they are awaiting test results on whether a driver who ran into a 2-year-old boy in an Aurora neighborhood was drunk at the time.
The boy, whose identity has not been released, is at Children’s Hospital, Aurora police say.
He was breathing on a ventilator and suffering from bleeding in the brain, according to Aurora police.
Officers detected an odor of alcohol on the truck driver, who disclosed that he had been drinking, police said. He submitted to a blood-alcohol test, and the results are not yet available.
Aurora police Lt. Troy Edwards said the driver, whose identity was not released, was not arrested. Whether he will be charged will be determined by the results of the blood test, he said.
“I don’t know if he even saw the boy until after he hit him,” Edwards said.
The boy was hit about 9 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of East Kentucky Avenue and South Waco Way, said Edwards, the first officer on the scene.
The boy was following his father across Kentucky when a Mitsubishi pickup sideswiped the child. The father said he believed his son was at his house with the boy’s aunt and didn’t know he was following.
Edwards said that when he pulled up, a large group of people had surrounded the little boy, who was thrown about 10 feet by the impact of the pickup, and a neighbor was performing CPR.
The boy was rushed to Children’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries, Edwards said.
“He was in really bad shape when I saw him,” Edwards said. “I didn’t think he was going to make it, from what I saw.”
Witnesses said the scene was chaotic, with the little boy’s mother having trouble standing from the emotion.
The driver of the truck stopped and was concerned, police said.
Staff writer John Ingold contributed to this report.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
