A Georgia grandfather who pulled over to help his stranded teenage grandson on a highway in Oconee County was killed, and the teen was seriously injured, after an ambulance hit them and pinned both beneath the vehicle Sunday night.
John Carter Martin had stopped his maroon Ford F-150 to help his grandson, Connor Lee Schoon, 17, whose Toyota Camry had broken down in the westbound lanes of Atlanta Highway near Whitehead Road around 9:50 p.m., according to the Georgia State Patrol, 11 Alive reported.
Investigators said Martin parked his truck in front of the disabled Camry, and both he and his grandson got out to try to fix it. While they were outside their vehicles, a westbound Northeast Georgia Medical Center ambulance slammed into the rear of the Camry, sending all three vehicles onto the north shoulder and pinning both men beneath the ambulance, according to the Oconee County Coroner, 11 Alive reports.
Martin was pronounced dead at the scene.
Schoon was critically injured and first taken to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center before being airlifted to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Arthur M. Blank Hospital. His mother, Jennifer Martinez, said he suffered multiple lacerations, a broken left clavicle and internal bleeding from a lacerated spleen, requiring a 3.5-hour emergency surgery to stop the bleeding.
He has since been moved out of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit into a regular room and is in stable condition, though still recovering physically and emotionally, Martinez told 11 Alive.
Martinez said her son told her both vehicles had their hazard lights on and were pulled far enough off the road to allow passing traffic.
“He kept asking me, his dad and step-dad, where was Papa?” Martinez told Atlanta News First Tuesday. “We told him the harsh truth today. He remembers seeing Papa getting hit as well. Please have the community pray for all of us at this time.”
The Georgia State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team has joined the investigation, and troopers say charges are possible once the probe is complete.
"Our hearts go out to everyone involved in the accident and their loved ones. We are cooperating with the accident investigation and providing mental and emotional support to staff members who have been impacted," a spokesperson from Northeast Georgia Medical Center said in a statement to Atlanta News First.
The Independent has contacted the Northeast Georgia Medical Center and the Georgia State Patrol for an update.
