Mom of 4-year-old survivor of quadruple deadly crash in New Jersey speaks out
RANDOLPH, New Jersey (WABC) -- The mother of a 4-year-old boy who survived a quadruple fatal crash says she is grateful for the people who helped her son.
Four people, including another young child, were killed in the crash on Route 10 in New Jersey on April 10.
Hunter Elder survived, but is now dealing with serious injuries and expensive medical bills.
The four-vehicle crash happened just before 3:30 p.m. at the intersection with Milbrook Avenue.
Hunter's two transportation aides, Bertha Castaneda, 67, and Maria Z. Figueroa, 58, 4-year-old schoolmate Yexsel Reyes Granados, and another driver, Diane Goetz, 71, were all killed.
Hunter, who has cerebral palsy, and the others were headed to P.G. Chambers school in Cedar Knolls, which serves students with special needs.
Nurses and first responders who happened to be in offices and at a Dunkin near the scene rushed to the van.
"The paramedic came running and said there's a child here, there's a child here, and he just pulled the car seat up and ripped the straps off of him," mother Kristin Elder said.
A memorial now sits at the site of the crash. The Reyes and Figueroa families have GoFundMe requests for funeral costs, including flying the 4-year-old's remains back to Honduras.
Hunter is continuing to heal. He has a broken collarbone and issues with his hips, but he also has an expanded family now -- including the first responders and nurses who discovered him in the van.
His GoFundMe will help offset medical expenses and his four brothers and sisters are keeping him smiling and happy.
The family is grateful for the help that day, as he was never alone.
"He is a shining light to everybody and when the nurses came yesterday that ran out from the dentist office where the scene was, they came here yesterday with Easter baskets. We were all in tears," Elder said.
Hunter's family said their thoughts and prayers will be with the families who lost their loved ones in the crash.
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