Boy run over by car pushed his sister to safety, mom says

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    GRIFFITH, Indiana (WBBM) — An emotional Northwest Indiana mother spoke out Monday after her 7-year-old son was run over by a car that jumped the curb.

The little boy miraculously survived.

Family held down the driver as they waited for police. But as CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar reported, that driver has not been arrested, cited, or charged with a crime.

The driver left 7-year-old DeVon with several broken bones. DeVon is wearing a protective halo brace and has cuts all over, but is expected to survive.

“When he has good days, I have good days,” said DeVon’s mother, Diamond Tetter.

Tetter and DeVon’s father, Charles Dixon, have no choice but to take it day by day. The 7-year-old, who loves video games, now wears a protective halo vest brace for his injuries.

“He has a broken collarbone on the left, a broken right femur, a really bad head laceration,” Tetter said.

DeVon was playing outside his Griffith, Indiana apartment complex with his siblings on Saturday, May 1, when a car jumped the curb. His mother was forced to watch helplessly.

“The car never stopped. The car accelerated straight into the grass,” Tetter said. “He’s amazing. He’s amazing, because in a split second, he seen the car coming – and the first thing he could do was push his sister.”

The protective big brother pushed his sister away from the out-of-control car, but he ended up pinned underneath.

“I heard him say it hurt, so I knew he was alive,” Tetter said.

Police say the driver tried to get away, but was restrained by witnesses until police arrived.

DeVon was airlifted to the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital.
Paramedics consoled DeVon’s parents as he was loaded into the helicopter.

Now, they lean on one another as they wait for DeVon to recover.

“He’s got a grumpy little personality, but he’s strong,” Tetter said. “Just want him to keep getting stronger.”

Police in Griffith, Indiana, said they are awaiting a toxicology report on the driver before any charges or citations are considered.

DeVon’s mom said she has already forgiven the driver; that in order for her to move forward, she can’t hold any ill feelings.

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