‘Devoted’ Father Pushes 5-Year-Old Son Out Of Harm’s Way In Hit-And-Run Accident

The incident left dad David Isaiah Espinoza in a coma with broken ankles and a fractured skull.

June 18, 2021
David Espinoza , the hero dad who saved his 5-year-old son from a hit-and-run driver in a Phoenix neighborhood, is still in a coma. [via AZ Family]

David Espinoza , the hero dad who saved his 5-year-old son from a hit-and-run driver in a Phoenix neighborhood, is still in a coma. [via AZ Family]

David Espinoza , the hero dad who saved his 5-year-old son from a hit-and-run driver in a Phoenix neighborhood, is still in a coma. [via AZ Family]

By: Aaron Rasmussen

An Arizona father is being hailed a hero after possibly saving his 5-year-old son’s life in a tragic hit-and-run accident.

On May 28, David Isaiah Espinoza and his boy, Aiden, were taking their daily walk to a park in Phoenix when a car struck the father from behind. Before he fell, AZ Family reported, Espinoza somehow managed to push the child out of the way.

“If you knew him as a father and how devoted he is to his family, how much he loves his son, it wouldn't surprise you at all,” Espinoza’s mother, Trinity, told the news outlet of the incident.

While his son was physically unharmed, Espinoza sustained a fractured skull and shattered ankles in the accident that left him in a coma.

“David would gladly take what he's going through right now if he knew for sure that Aiden was safe,” Trinity said.

Espinoza’s father, David Espinoza Sr., noted, “He's what every son's dream of a dad would be.”

Footage from a security camera allegedly shows an early 2000s model gray Honda Civic keep going after striking the dad, police said.

On June 4, authorities took Vera Mims, 48, into custody in connection with the case, AZ Family reported.

Espinoza is currently in stable condition. Doctors have operated on his ankles and he is set to undergo extensive facial plastic surgery, according to a GoFundMe page set up for the hit-and-run victim.

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