A 7-year-old Rome, Georgia boy named Aiden remains in a medically induced coma after a truck struck him Friday morning as he waited to board his school bus on Chateau Drive, according to a fundraiser set up to help his family. He suffered a diffuse axonal brain injury, a broken pelvis, broken ribs, a fractured clavicle, a fractured wrist and a severe ligament tear connecting his skull and neck, and he remains intubated as doctors work to stabilize him.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the truck was speeding when it hit Aiden as he prepared to board the bus. Two nurses who happened to be nearby administered CPR to the boy, and other adults at the scene worked to stabilize his neck before emergency crews arrived. Per the fundraiser cited by the station, Aiden was airlifted within an hour of the crash to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
The crash happened on the morning of Friday, August 21, on Chateau Drive while Aiden was waiting for and attempting to catch the bus alongside his older brother, according to The Weekly Ledger. Emergency crews airlifted the boy specifically to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, a pediatric level-1 trauma facility in Sandy Springs, roughly 70 miles from Rome, the outlet reported.
What a Diffuse Axonal Injury Means for Aiden's Recovery
Doctors have not released a prognosis, but medical experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine describe diffuse axonal injury as a severe form of traumatic brain injury caused by violent shaking or shearing forces that tear the brain's long connecting nerve fibers across multiple areas, often leaving patients in prolonged comas. That mechanism helps explain why Aiden remains sedated and intubated as his body and brain attempt to heal from the trauma.
Aiden's parents, identified only as Jodi and Tray, are caring for him alongside their 13-year-old and 7-month-old children, according to the fundraiser page cited by FOX 5 Atlanta. He also requires surgery, though further details on the procedure have not been released. The person who created the online fundraiser to help the family wrote that Aiden is a strong little man and people are waiting for him to wake up, adding that the effort gives Jodi and Tray one less thing to worry about. Community members can contribute directly through the fundraiser page to help cover medical expenses and recovery costs.
Investigation Remains Open, No Charges Filed
The Rome Police Department has confirmed its traffic investigation into the Chateau Drive crash remains open and active, and officers have said no charges are immediately pending, according to the Weekly Ledger. Authorities have not released details regarding the truck driver, and police have not identified the specific school bus route involved in the crash. It remains unclear whether the driver passed a stopped bus with its safety signals activated or whether Aiden entered the roadway before the bus came to a complete stop; police have not said, and that question remains open. Officers are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to contact the department.
Georgia's Addy's Law and School Bus Safety Rules
Georgia lawmakers strengthened penalties for illegally passing a stopped school bus in 2024 through a measure known as Addy's Law, which amended O.C.G.A. § 40-6-163. Under that law, unlawfully passing a stopped school bus displaying activated visual signals is classified as a high and aggravated misdemeanor carrying a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 and up to 12 months in jail. The law was named for 8-year-old Adalynn Pierce, who was struck and killed in 2023 by a passing car while crossing the street to board her school bus in Henry County, according to background compiled by Crossroads Academy.
Beyond stiffer penalties for drivers, Addy's Law also directs public school districts to design bus routes that minimize stops requiring students to cross roadways with speed limits of 40 mph or greater. Whether Floyd County Schools' bus stop placement on Chateau Drive aligns with that state guidance has not been addressed by officials and remains an open question for further reporting.
The Rome crash arrives amid broader national concern about child pedestrian safety near school buses. A 10-year review by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covering 2015 through 2024 found that 162 pedestrians died in school-transportation-related crashes nationwide, with 55% of school-age child victims between 5 and 10 years old. The same federal data shows more of those deaths occur between 7 and 8 a.m. than during any other single morning hour, precisely the window when families across Rome and beyond are heading to bus stops. A statewide AAA survey found that 69% of Georgia drivers report regularly driving through school zones or near bus stops during the fall school commute.
