11-year-old boy loses arm in OWI-related pickup truck vs. tree crash in Waukesha County



Nathaniel



OTTAWA -- A catastrophic crash on Christmas morning in Waukesha County has changed a young boy's life forever.

The crash happened around 1:30 a.m. off Highway 67 -- south of Highway D in Ottawa. When first responders arrived, they found a pickup truck pinned up against a tree with significant damage.

FOX6 spoke to someone who lives nearby, who said they heard the crash, ran outside, saw a man and a child pinned in the vehicle with serious injuries and called 911. It took emergency crews about 20 minutes to extricate the pair.

Pickup truck vs. tree crash on Highway 67 -- south of Highway D in Ottawa



Pickup truck vs. tree crash on Highway 67 -- south of Highway D in Ottawa



Pickup truck vs. tree crash on Highway 67 -- south of Highway D in Ottawa



Flight for Life arrived and took an 11-year-old, named Nathaniel, to Children's Hospital in critical condition. Nathaniel's father, Jeremy, was the driver and was taken to an area trauma center.

The boy's mother told FOX6 on Tuesday, December 26th Nathaniel was stable after surgery. She said he suffered fractures in his face, among other injuries, including the loss of his arm.

Right now, the family needs all the thoughts and prayers they can get as the young boy -- who is a pitcher on his baseball team and a football player -- tries to come to terms with his prognosis.

Pickup truck vs. tree crash on Highway 67 -- south of Highway D in Ottawa



Pickup truck vs. tree crash on Highway 67 -- south of Highway D in Ottawa



Details on how the crash happened still have not been released. We're told the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department is investigating this case as OWI related.

Meanwhile, young Nathaniel remains in the hospital --with a long road to recovery ahead of him. A GoFundMe page has been established.