This past weekend a soldier returned from his 11-month tour in Baghdad hoping to see his beautiful family waiting for him as planned. He hoped to see his wife and four young children waiting anxiously for him. Instead, when the officer stepped from the airplane, he was met with news that his 6-year-old son had been involved in what responding officers suspect was an alcohol-related crash.

The serious car accident occurred on Friday, Dec. 16 at approximately 8:30 in the evening. The soldier's wife had brought the four young children with her to the airport to welcome their soldier father on his return. When the children exited the vehicle, the mother instructed them to hold each other's hands as they crossed the parking lot - a tactic that often keeps young children safe. As the children followed their mother a car came careening around the corner directly at the family.

The mother could not get to the boy in time after she realized the car was not going to stop. The 61-year-old driver of the vehicle struck the 6-year-old boy, dragging his body approximately 15 feet across the pavement until he struck a concrete wall. "He didn't even slow down," exclaimed the mother as she relived the horror. "He didn't even stop until he hit a concrete wall."

When emergency responders arrived on the scene, they smelled alcohol emanating from the driver of the vehicle.

The injured boy was taken to the nearest hospital where it was determined that he had suffered a broken nose and femur in the crash and had lost most of his teeth. According to doctors, his tiny fractured jaw could require reconstructive surgery.

When a child suffers an accident such as this one, the physical pain is not the only damages suffered. The effects of the crash and injuries could last into the future. A child often struggles to understand the crash and any scars are not only reminders, but often a basis for emotional pain.

Source: Pioneer Press, "Returning soldier's son, 6, hospitalized after car drags him at airport," Will Ashenmacher, Dec. 17, 2011