Little Boy Killed By Stunting Father
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April 2011 Ride of the Month
Joined: Jul 2009
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Little Boy Killed By Stunting Father
This happened a couple years ago but I never heard about it (i live in the same town) until a couple months ago..... just read the story and im sure you will all be as struck as i was.....
MORAL TO THE STORY IS WATCH YOUR CHILDREN AND KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE STUNT FIELD
PEORIA —
Just after learning his 4-year-old son was dead and just before he was taken into police custody, Michael Wells cried in his mother's lap.
"He said, 'Mom, I just want to go home to my son, but he's not going to be there,'" a sobbing Crystal Wells said Sunday evening of her 21-year-old son.
Michael Wells was performing a wheelie on his motorcycle in the parking lot of Hundman Lumber, 2601 W. Altorfer Drive, about 5:30 p.m. Saturday when he struck his son, Ashton, who was riding a bicycle nearby.
The East Peoria man, a forklift driver by trade, was arrested later Saturday evening for aggravated reckless driving and operating a motorcycle on one wheel, among other charges.
He said goodbye to his dead son while wearing handcuffs, Crystal Wells said.
"He looked at me and said, 'Mom, this was an accident. I would have traded places with him and taken my own life before I let my son be hurt,'" she recalled.
Michael Wells, a recreational motorcyclist, and friends occasionally got together with friends to perform stunts on their bikes, Crystal Wells said. They were given permission months ago to practice their tricks in the parking lot of the lumber yard near the Allen Road Wal-Mart Supercenter, she said.
Ashton, who looked up to his dad, always wanted to come along, but Michael Wells hadn't allowed it before Saturday. The boy's mother, Holly Blanch, and several other spectators tagged along to watch Saturday's practice. The energetic 4-year-old was given a bit of free rein on his bike.
According to Crystal Wells, her grandson was riding his bike at the opposite end of the lumber yard parking lot while his dad performed his stunts. Excited to finally be free of training wheels and even more excited about being with his dad, the boy darted toward his father before Blanch could catch him - and before Michael Wells had a chance to react.
His first instinct, Crystal Wells said, was to rush his injured son to the nearest medical help he could find - Methodist MedPointe on North Knoxville Avenue, 2 1/2 miles away. When they arrived, Ashton Wells had a pulse and was breathing but was immediately transported by ambulance to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.
Police went to the hospital and escorted Michael Wells back to the scene of the accident for questioning. He was arrested at the scene shortly thereafter and was driven back to the hospital in handcuffs to view his son's body.
The two were inseparable, Crystal Wells said. Six months ago, Michael Wells had "Ashton" tattooed on his wrist, which he nervously rubbed at the hospital while waiting to hear his son's condition. A protective father, Michael Wells wouldn't let his son ride his bike outside the yard.
"He was a grieving father who didn't have time to comprehend what happened," Crystal Wells said while dabbing her eyes with a nearly empty roll of toilet paper and smiling at a sea of pictures spread across the kitchen table in her Peoria home. "My son needs to be with his family. He is a grieving father, not a criminal."
Michael Wells will make his first appearance before a judge today. An autopsy on the boy is also scheduled for today.
MORAL TO THE STORY IS WATCH YOUR CHILDREN AND KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE STUNT FIELD
PEORIA —
Just after learning his 4-year-old son was dead and just before he was taken into police custody, Michael Wells cried in his mother's lap.
"He said, 'Mom, I just want to go home to my son, but he's not going to be there,'" a sobbing Crystal Wells said Sunday evening of her 21-year-old son.
Michael Wells was performing a wheelie on his motorcycle in the parking lot of Hundman Lumber, 2601 W. Altorfer Drive, about 5:30 p.m. Saturday when he struck his son, Ashton, who was riding a bicycle nearby.
The East Peoria man, a forklift driver by trade, was arrested later Saturday evening for aggravated reckless driving and operating a motorcycle on one wheel, among other charges.
He said goodbye to his dead son while wearing handcuffs, Crystal Wells said.
"He looked at me and said, 'Mom, this was an accident. I would have traded places with him and taken my own life before I let my son be hurt,'" she recalled.
Michael Wells, a recreational motorcyclist, and friends occasionally got together with friends to perform stunts on their bikes, Crystal Wells said. They were given permission months ago to practice their tricks in the parking lot of the lumber yard near the Allen Road Wal-Mart Supercenter, she said.
Ashton, who looked up to his dad, always wanted to come along, but Michael Wells hadn't allowed it before Saturday. The boy's mother, Holly Blanch, and several other spectators tagged along to watch Saturday's practice. The energetic 4-year-old was given a bit of free rein on his bike.
According to Crystal Wells, her grandson was riding his bike at the opposite end of the lumber yard parking lot while his dad performed his stunts. Excited to finally be free of training wheels and even more excited about being with his dad, the boy darted toward his father before Blanch could catch him - and before Michael Wells had a chance to react.
His first instinct, Crystal Wells said, was to rush his injured son to the nearest medical help he could find - Methodist MedPointe on North Knoxville Avenue, 2 1/2 miles away. When they arrived, Ashton Wells had a pulse and was breathing but was immediately transported by ambulance to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.
Police went to the hospital and escorted Michael Wells back to the scene of the accident for questioning. He was arrested at the scene shortly thereafter and was driven back to the hospital in handcuffs to view his son's body.
The two were inseparable, Crystal Wells said. Six months ago, Michael Wells had "Ashton" tattooed on his wrist, which he nervously rubbed at the hospital while waiting to hear his son's condition. A protective father, Michael Wells wouldn't let his son ride his bike outside the yard.
"He was a grieving father who didn't have time to comprehend what happened," Crystal Wells said while dabbing her eyes with a nearly empty roll of toilet paper and smiling at a sea of pictures spread across the kitchen table in her Peoria home. "My son needs to be with his family. He is a grieving father, not a criminal."
Michael Wells will make his first appearance before a judge today. An autopsy on the boy is also scheduled for today.
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Joined: Oct 2009
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thats messed up i am not a father but i know how i felt when i heard my dad had cancer. and it hurt bad and i was upset. and would not and could not bare to even think how the father would feel. accidents do happen.
god bless.
god bless.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 310
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From: Ontario, Canada
That is such ashame. Somebody doing something they love causes their own sons death. I hope that he continues to ride and even stunt. It was an accident that could have been avoided but they took pretty good precautions to avoid any accidents. (Did their stunts on private parking lot with permission). I am not currently a father but will be in the next couple years and would love to let my son come watch me stunt. Ill take what I can from his loss and use it to help me be just a little bit safer.
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 110
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From: Kent
I'll admit that story made my eyes water and the hair on the back of my neck stand up... Dont know what that guy did in his life to have deserved that. If I were the judge I'd let him go free of charge knowing he will live in his own prison for the rest of his life. Good gawd I couldnt imagine...
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