ENGLEWOOD — When 3-week-old Sara Miller is old enough to understand, her mother knows exactly what she will say to explain how the baby’s grandfather saved Sara’s life.
“I will tell her that she has the best grandpa in the world, and he will be here, so he will be able to hear it,” Suzanne Miller of Littleton said through tears Thursday.
Suzanne Miller’s father, James Lewin, 65, remains in critical condition after he pushed his granddaughter’s stroller to safety as a pickup truck barreled toward them in a crosswalk.
Lewin’s family held a news conference at Swedish Medical Center to ask motorists to slow down and drive carefully, and to tell the story of how the retired Los Angeles County firefighter got hurt.
Lewin and his family attended Littleton’s annual Candlelight Walk and Tree Lighting ceremony on Nov. 28. He was pushing Sara’s stroller through the crosswalk when the pickup turned the corner and started coming toward him, said Kris Miller, Lewin’s son-in-law.
As Kris Miller bent to talk to his 3-year-old son, Brian, “I heard someone accelerate loudly,” he said.
Lewin shoved Sara’s carriage so hard that the rubber grip ripped from the handle.
He wasn’t able to get himself out of harm’s way, however.
“That was typical of him — he was always the type of person who likes to help people,” said Lewin’s wife, Carol, 66. The couple live in Durango and were visiting his daughter’s family.
Luckily, the accident occurred only steps from an ambulance company, and a medic was quickly on the scene.
James Lewin suffered head trauma, and he drifts in and out of consciousness, his family said.
His carotid artery was cut, reducing blood flow to his brain and causing blood clots, his wife said. He also has six fractured ribs and a broken nose.
The pickup driver was charged with careless driving causing injury.
Lewin’s family wants drivers to be more careful and everyone to be thankful for the things they have.
“Don’t take things for granted. You just don’t know what is going to happen around the corner,” said Carol Lewin.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
