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September 20, 2008

Mother blames faulty window

By Rich Flowers News Editor

The mother of a three-year-old girl who survived a bizarre accident Monday when her head was caught in a pick-up truck window, says the child is now home and getting better each day.

But, Destiny Young said she does not believe her daughter, Alexis Stults, triggered the power window as had been previously reported.

According to Athens Police Department reports, Whataburger manager Kathy Curry called 9-1-1 and told dispatch that a child was trapped in a car window and could not breathe. Police and rescue personnel sped to the scene and helped transport the girl to East Texas Medical Center, Athens. From there she was flown to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.

Emergency personnel speculated that the girl must have hit the window switch to set it in motion. Young said the accident was instead the result of a faulty window mechanism that has been a repeated source of problems.

Amber Hurtado was caring for Alexis when the accident occurred. According to Young, after Hurtado strapped Alexis into her car seat, Alexis apparently unbuckled herself and climbed into the front seat. Hurtado, who was talking on a cell phone, looked to her right and saw the window roll up on Alexis

“The truck wasn’t moving,” Young said. “The key was off.”

Young — who was not in the car — said the self-starting window has been an ongoing problem. It had started rolling up a couple of days before almost catching her husband inside.

A man in the Whataburger drive through window heard the cries for help in the parking lot, left his car, and began to administer CPR. Young believes that the quick action of the man she knows only as John helped save her daughter’s life.

“I called him and told him thank you,” Young said.

Young learned that the man was from southeast Texas and had come to Athens to escape hurricane Ike.

“He said God had him there eating at that Whataburger for a reason,” Young said.

When Alexis was freed from the window, she was not breathing, Young said. EMS transported the girl to East Texas Medical Center where her condition was determined to be extremely critical. Within 30 minutes she was being transported to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Young said the child’s life was in jeopardy for about 16 hours, then she started to show improvement. Alexis was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon.

“She’s got bruises to her neck and stuff,” Young said.

When Alexis started to get better, she told her doctor she had not touched the window controls, Young said.

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