Police: 7-Year-Old Boy Playing Tag With His Friends Hit By DUI Driver In Washington County
CALIFORNIA, Pa. (KDKA) -- Chevy Marod said he's lucky to be alive.
The 7-year-old boy said he was playing tag with friends outside of his dad's skateboard business along Union Street in California Borough when his shoe fell off into the alley nearby, and that's when he said the driver of a car hit him.
"My shoe was here. I bent down to get my shoe, then I got hit by a car," Marod said.
Police say Allen Csonka was the man behind the wheel. Investigators said Csonka smelled like marijuana and admitted to taking some over-the-counter stimulants before the crash. They said his driver's license was also suspended.
After the crash, witness Mackenzie Rudovsky said Csonka left the scene but did come back later.
"He came up and picked Chevy up and brought him into his mom Amber's arms and said he was gonna go park the car, and he went down and parked the car and didn't come back for a little while. So we didn't think he was coming back but eventually, he did. By the time he came back, the cops were already here," said Rudovsky.
"I was worried I was gonna die, but luckily, I didn't," said Marod.
Marod survived the accident, but he didn't walk away without some injuries. He sustained a severe laceration to the side of his head, and his dad said he also got road rash on his wrist and palm.
"The first time we went to change his bandages, he saw his scar and it broke his heart. He was crying, all upset and was worried no one would be his friend," said Dillion Marody, the boy's father.
Chevy's dad got a tattoo of a scar on the side of his head so his son wouldn't feel left out.
"Me and dad are scar buddies now," said Chevy.
Chevy had an appointment at Children's Hospital on Tuesday morning. His dad said he is going to be OK.
Police say Csonka turned himself in Monday and is behind bars facing multiple charges.
