Woman Tries To Save 6-Year-Old Boy
GRAND PRAIRIE (CBS 11 NEWS)- A woman who gave a dying 6-year-old boy CPR in the moments after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver says she hopes the person responsible will come forward.
Brenda Aguilar, 23, was at a corner near Carrier Parkway and Holliday Hills Road in Grand Prairie on Thursday when she saw a woman pushing a stroller desperately trying to flag down drivers for help.
The woman was Lauren Raidy, who was pushing her daughter in a stroller across Carrier Parkway, with her son, John, 6, leading the way.
A driver in a small black hatchback car or SUV honked at the family before plowing into the boy, taking him some 300 yards on the hood of the vehicle before the child fell off the car. The vehicle sped away.
"She was trying to flag every car down but nobody wanted to stop so as soon as I saw that I just took off running towards her," Aguilar said. "As soon as I got there she was just yelling, 'My baby! My baby!"
Another woman began performing CPR on the little boy but later deferred to Aguilar, who then began to try to pump life back into his body.
"When I got to the little boy his lips were purple and swollen and he was pale. He had no heartbeat. He wasn't breathing," she said.
Aguilar had learned CPR in high school as part of ROTC but had never had to use her skill, until now.
Soon she began to feel a faint heartbeat, then the boy coughed.
"He opens his eyes and he looks at me and he just closes his eyes again," she said. "The cop got here and he told me to keep doing it until the ambulance got here. Finally, the ambulance got here and they took him."
The next day she found out the boy had passed away.
Lauren Raidy later thanked Aguilar for her help. Aguilar later returned to the scene to find a memorial with stuffed animals, cards and letters from classmates, flowers and toys for 6-year-old John.
Aguilar says she will never forget the face of the little boy whose life she tried to save.
"I haven't slept right. I honestly haven't because that's all I'm going to ever have in my mind of that little boy," she said. "It sucks because I wish he would have looked at his mom for the last time instead of me. But, I mean, everything happens for a reason. Only God knows."
She's hoping the person behind the wheel comes forward so that justice can be served.
"I hope you can live with that for the rest of your life," she said. "If he doesn't get caught, I hope he can't sleep at night with his conscience."
Meanwhile, Grand Prairie Police continue to pour over dozens of tips they've received.
Police are also consulting automotive experts hoping to narrow down what type of vehicle the suspect was driving. They are also trying to enhance the surveillance video of the suspect vehicle hoping to find more clues.
If you have any information that can help, call Grand Prairie Police.
(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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