Injured Student Is Back With a Smile

Erik Pena went home Thursday, scarred and facing more surgeries, but remarkably upbeat after a month in the hospital.

The 13-year-old was seriously injured Aug. 7 when a sedan careened into him and other students standing on an Anaheim Hills street corner. He was dragged 50 feet and suffered friction burns on his back and burns on his stomach from leaking radiator fluid. His feet were burned as well.

He was the most seriously injured student in the accident, which left four youngsters hurt and set off pandemonium among parents and children as they left El Rancho Middle School for the day.

“He’s a very lucky boy,” said Dr. Peter Grossman, a burn specialist. “It’s very, very possible that this type of injury could have killed him.”

Erik’s treatment included a series of four painful skin grafts and frequent dressing changes. And through it all, his nurses said, Erik kept his sense of humor, never feeling sorry for himself.

“He’s the kind of kid you love to have as a patient,” said Denise Walden, a nurse at the Grossman Burn Services unit at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana .

Some said Erik pushed another student out of the path of the oncoming car, only to take the brunt of the impact himself. Police in Anaheim said they’ve heard the same thing, though they could not confirm it since their investigation focused on the driver and those who were injured.

Asked if he felt like a hero, Erik was noncommittal. “I don’t know,” he said, smiling.

But when he spoke of the accident, Erik’s smile vanished.

He was with a group of about 15 students standing on the corner of Santa Ana Canyon Road and Fairmont Boulevard when a driver plowed into the group after jumping onto the sidewalk, clipping a pickup and careening off an SUV. The driver, who had suffered a seizure, was not charged in the accident.

“Everybody started running, and I saw the girl,” Erik said. “I saw the car was about to hit her, and I just pushed her out of the way.”

Then he felt the car.

“I remember the car pushing me, and I think I fainted for a little bit, and then the fluid started burning me,” he said. “But I couldn’t move.”

He remembered a crowd of people telling him that everything would be OK as they lifted the car away.

Despite the painful recovery and the lingering injuries, Erik said he just did what he thought was right.

Armando Pena said he’s proud of his son.

“He’s always been a noble kid,” Pena said in Spanish, niece Jamie Pena interpreting.

Erik’s family stayed near during his hospital stay. His father, a factory assemblyman who works nights, sat with him during the day. His mother, Juana, a care worker, spent nights with him. And his 15-year-old brother, Alan, all but moved into the hospital.

Erik has been told he can return to school in about two weeks, but won’t be able to run or ride his skateboard for another six months. He’ll likely need two or three more surgeries to reduce scarring, Grossman said.