Grainger County 5-year-old recovering after ATV accident

THORN HILL, Tenn. (WVLT) - On New Year’s Day, a family from Grainger County decided to take a trip to a familiar spot to them in Rose Hill, Virginia to ride side by sides together as a family.

Heather and Brian Shockley brought their 5-year-old son Jase, who had been riding with them for years.

Near the end of their ride, they encountered some fallen trees, branches, and debris, and tried to slowly drive over it. As they drove over it, a branch snapped and stabbed through the plastic door of the side by side and pierced Jase’s face.

“The limb did go through and through his mouth and damaged his tongue in the process,” said dad Brian Shockley.

The limb went through Jase’s cheek and caused him to spend significant time in the hospital.

Realizing quickly that there was a significant injury, Shockley and others took turns carrying their son down the mountain for about 45 minutes before meeting a helicopter that was able to take them to UT Medical Center.

“He’s pretty tough but he was telling us that he thought he was going to die. He was cold so I took my jacket, he had coveralls and a bunch of stuff on him and he was wrapped up and I just got my jacket and wrapped him up and he kept telling us he was sorry and he didn’t have anything to be sorry about,” said Shockley.

Jase is still at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital as he’s now starting to talk more and is back to working to walk on his own.

There’s no timeline yet on when the family expects Jase to be released from the hospital, but they’re thankful he’s alive and that it’s not worse.

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