A 13-year-old boy is recovering after he was struck from behind and dragged hundreds of feet beneath a vehicle while walking home from school in DeKalb County, Georgia. Anderson Castro was crossing at a four-way stop near Tucker Middle School when the crash happened, and bystanders rushed in to pull him free before police or paramedics ever arrived.
The crash happened Tuesday afternoon near the intersection of Fellowship Road and DeKalb County Road, not far from the middle school, according to wsbtv.com. Castro was walking to the four-way stop on his way home from his DeKalb County middle school when a different vehicle struck him from behind, the station reported. Witnesses told the station the vehicle then dragged Castro several hundred feet before it finally stopped.
As the station reported, people nearby yelled for the driver to stop and rushed to pull the teen to safety once he became trapped underneath. Castro suffered severe injuries and remained hospitalized as he recovered, per the same account. According to Crosswalk.com, the teen's left leg was left completely bandaged and he had areas of missing skin following the crash.
Trapped and Screaming for Help
Castro described the terrifying moments beneath the vehicle himself. “I'm just under the car screaming for help and I see a guy trying to help me,” he told Yahoo News. His mother, Karen Castro, said several people at the scene sent her videos and helped contact her as the situation unfolded, the outlet reported.
Crosswalk.com reports that Castro's mother considered his survival a miracle, given that he was trapped beneath the car for an unknown length of time before strangers freed him. The family has expressed gratitude toward the people who stopped to help and documented the aftermath, according to the outlet. Castro is expected to be okay following his hospital stay, per the same report.
Investigation Continues, No Charges Announced
The driver remained at the scene, and investigators were continuing to look into the crash, with no charges announced as of the available reporting, according to wsbtv.com. The exact circumstances that led to the collision, including questions of fault or distraction, have not been established in reporting so far.
The crash adds to a troubling statewide pattern. Georgia recorded 310 pedestrian fatalities in 2023, according to a Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety report. The same data show suspected serious crash injuries statewide climbed 12 percent between 2019 and 2023, reaching 8,171 injuries, with vulnerable road users like pedestrians and motorcyclists accounting for nearly one-fifth of all serious injuries that year.
For now, Castro's recovery continues, and his family has leaned on the strangers who stepped in when it mattered most. Police have not released additional details about the driver or the investigation's progress.
