Run-Over Toddler’s Condition Improves
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A toddler who was hospitalized in serious condition after being accidentally run over in the driveway of his Silver Strand Beach home last weekend had improved enough by Wednesday to be transferred from intensive care to a regular pediatric unit.
The 22-month-old boy, who was in serious condition with a broken pelvis and bruised lungs, was upgraded to fair condition at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara on Tuesday morning. A hospital spokesperson said it is too early to know when he will be released.
John Vorburger, 34, of Oxnard was backing a van out of a driveway when he ran over Austin J. Hewitt, who had wandered outside. The boy’s father, Greg Hewitt, was a passenger in the vehicle.
No citations will be issued because the incident occurred on private property, said California Highway Patrol Officer Scott Peterson. However, Vorburger will be charged with driving with a suspended license--a charge he has incurred six times before, Peterson said.
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