NEW ORLEANS — Cierra Patterson was in disbelief when her mother, Alicia Patterson, called her around 4 a.m. Sunday.
“I can’t wrap my head around this," Patterson said.
Her son, 15-year-old Jamal Jackson, Jr., was underneath a car.
“All I heard was a shhhh and a boom and I jumped up and I went to screaming," Grandmother, Alicia Patterson, said.
New Orleans Police responded to the grandmother's home near the intersection of Cerise Avenue and Chef Menteur Highway. Officers found the SUV that crashed through a fence and into the bedroom where Jackson was sleeping.
NOPD said the driver, 54-year-old Cedrick Marshall, was arrested after he allegedly failed a sobriety test. Marshall was booked on First Degree of Vehicular Negligent Injury and Reckless Operation after he was released from the hospital.
Meanwhile, at University Medical Center, Jamal's family said he was in ICU and unresponsive.
“He doesn’t have any blood trauma in his head, thank God for that," Cierra Patterson said. "They have him heavily sedated for the pain. When I went in there like 11, or 12 he had caught a seizure. And like an hour later he caught another one," she said.
The sophomore had just started school at Edna Karr. The family said he's involved in band and football. He was even 8th-grade prom king.
“He hadn’t got to graduate from high school or none of that yet, but he will. Cause I’ve got faith in God," his mom said.
The family said that faith is what will get them, and Jamal, through this fight. They're asking for prayers and sharing a message.
“Ain’t no way in the world my child should be in critical condition at 15 years old by somebody not doing the right thing," Patterson said. "He should have called an Uber if he knew he was too intoxicated. He should’ve never got behind the wheel," she said.
A spokesperson for Inspire NOLA Charter Schools said in an email to WWL Louisiana:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones. School administrators are in communication with his family and have offered support during this challenging time.”
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