An eight-year-old girl has been seriously injured while riding on the back of a motorcycle driven by her father after a car stopped in front of them.
Bella Martinez and her father Enrique traveled through Commerce City, Colorado, to meet family on Tuesday.
“It was a nice day, so you know, we just went for a nice ride out there,” Martinez told the local Fox affiliate. KDVR.
But while they were on their way to their relative’s house, a car stopped in front of them, causing Martinez to lose control of the motorcycle. The driver then took off.
“He jumped out right in front of us and kind of lost control there to avoid hitting them and just went down,” he said.
On Tuesday, 8-year-old Bella (left) and her father, Enrique Martinez (right), rode a motorcycle through Commerce City, Colorado, to meet family
While the father-daughter duo were on their way to their relative’s house, a car stopped in front of them, causing Martinez to lose control of the motorcycle.
Her father said his first instinct was to check on his daughter.
‘It was hard to see her like that. I just made sure everything was fine and nothing had broken off the bat. She could stand. We were walking. But I sat her down right away and there was just…she was really scratched,” he said.
Bystanders who witnessed the accident came to help, but the person responsible for the accident was nowhere to be found.
“The guy who jumped in front of us took off straight away and didn’t even stop. He didn’t hit the brakes, nothing. He just kept going,” Martinez said.
Martinez’s father lived around the corner from where the accident occurred, so he was able to take Bella to Children’s Hospital Colorado, where she was treated.
“The burn center said she was on the edge,” said Bernadette Luevano, Bella’s mother. “If they went any deeper, she would definitely need skin grafts.”
Her father’s first instinct was to check on his daughter
Bystanders who witnessed the accident came to help, but the person responsible for the accident was nowhere to be found
Martinez’s father lived around the corner from where the accident occurred, so he was able to take Bella to Children’s Hospital Colorado, where she was treated for burns.
Bella was sent home on Thursday with bandaged wounds, but she will have to return to hospital weekly to allow the wounds to heal.
“Right now we’re discussing it with the doctors week by week just because we don’t want to open the wounds and get an infection in there,” Luevano said.
The family is waiting to hear whether or not Bella is a candidate for skin grafts.
‘They’ll have the burn center look at it again and determine whether her skin is healing well enough. If not, she will need skin grafts. That’s… we hope for the best.’
The family has one GoFundMe to help pay medical bills.
Luevano said she had to shut down her business while caring for her daughter.
Bella’s mother Bernadette Luevano (left) said she had to close down her business while caring for her daughter.
The family is waiting to hear whether or not Bella is a candidate for skin grafts.
“I have to cancel and reschedule all my appointments so I can take good care of her and give her all my attention,” she said.
The family said they are just grateful Bella is alive.
“Thank God she was wearing her helmet,” Luevano said, “or it could have been a lot worse.”
There are no age restrictions in Colorado for passengers traveling on the back of a motorcycle.