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'My son is my hero': Teen saves father from being crushed underneath truck
Lee Anne Denyer
Reporter
'My son is my hero': Teen saves father from being crushed underneath truck
EDIE: NOW TO A KCRA 3 EXCLUSIVE. AN OAKDALE FAMILY IS CALLING THEIR 15-YEAR-OLD SON A HERO AFTER HE HELPED SAVE HIS FATHER, WHEN THE TRUCK HE WAS WORKING UNDER FELL ON TOP OF HIM. THE SCARY MOMENTS WERE ALL CAUGHT ON CAMERA. LEE ANNE DENYER SAT DOWN WITH THE SON AND THE FATHER WHO TELL, HER, THEY HAVE A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR. >> MATTHEW WILKINSON REMEMBERS THINKING, HE HAD TO GET THE WORK DONE ON HIS TRUCK THAT NIGHT. >> WE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS. >> BUT ON WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A NORMAL MONDAY NIGHT FOR THE WILKINSON FAMILY, THE SECURITY SYSTEM ON THEIR OAKDALE HOME CAPTURE THIS. >> I COULD NOT GET A GOOD ANGLE. I SLID MY BODY UNDERNEATH. THE SECOND IT POPPED OFFS, THE TRUCK FELL. I KNOW IT ROLLED FORWARD BECAUSE IT FELL ON TOP OF ME. ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS -- THE BREATH COMING OUT OF ME. I COULD NOT TALK. >> THE TERRIFYING VIDEO SHOWS THE TRUCK FALL. MATTHEW WAS STUCK. THE ACCIDENT LEFT HIM WITH A PUNCTURED LUNG, BROKEN RIBS. HIS SHOLDER IS SEPERATED. >> ALL THIS TIME IN THE HOSPITAL, I’M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW I GOT OFF OF THE TRUCK. THINKING ABOUT IT, I’VE GOT A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA. I CALLED MY KID AND HAD HIM LOOK AT THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA. THEY REALIZED HE LIFTED THE TRUCK ENOUGH FOR ME TO ROLL OUT. >> YOU CAN SEE IT DROPPED RIGHT ON HIM. I WAS SCARED. I HEARD HIM MAKE A NOISE LIKE HIS SOUL WAS LEAVING HIS BODY. >> LIKE MANY TIMES BEFORE, HE HAD BEEN HELPING HIS DAD WORK ON THE TRUCK. >> I WAS ASKING WHAT TO DO. I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. I JUMPED TO THE BACK OF THE TRUCK. I RAN OVER AND TRIED AS HARD AS I COULD TO GET IT UP ENOUGH. >> IT WAS ENOUGH. THE VIDEO SHOWS HIM FREEING HIMSELF. >> MY SON IS MY HERO. HE SAVED MY LIFE. >> WHILE THERE IS RECOVERY, HE IS THEIR HERO. >> I WAS WORRIED I DID NOT HELP. THAT IS ALL I WAS WORRIED ABOUT. NOW I’M GLAD HE’S OK.
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'My son is my hero': Teen saves father from being crushed underneath truck
Lee Anne Denyer
Reporter
A California family is praising their teenage son for helping free his father from being trapped underneath the truck they were working on.Watch the video in the player above.Matthew Wilkinson said despite getting home late on what should have been a normal night, he couldn’t put off working on the brakes on his work truck. When his teenage son came out to check on him, he enlisted his help. Working on the vehicle was something they’d done many times before.This time, however, the rotor was stuck.“I couldn't get a good angle, so I slid my body underneath the truck and was hitting it,” Matthew said. “The second it popped off, the truck fell. I know it rolled forward because I saw it roll forward and it fell right on top of me. All I could think about was the breath coming out of me. I was just squished. I couldn't talk. I couldn't yell.”The family’s home security camera captured the terrifying moment. The accident left Matthew with a punctured lung, broken ribs and a separated shoulder. But while he was in the hospital, he said he couldn’t figure out how he had managed to free himself.“All this time in the hospital, I’m trying to figure out how did I get out from under the truck,” he said.It was then he remembered the surveillance cameras.“I called my kid and had him look at them look at the surveillance camera and they realized that he had lifted the truck enough for me to roll out,” he said.Dalin Wilkinson is 15 years old and regularly helps his dad out with work on the vehicle.“It just dropped right on him. I was scared. I heard him make a noise like his soul was leaving his body. It was crazy,” Dalin said. “I just ran over and tried as hard as I could to get it up enough to get him out.”It was enough.“My son is my hero. He saved my life,” said his father.
OAKDALE, Calif. —

A California family is praising their teenage son for helping free his father from being trapped underneath the truck they were working on.

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Watch the video in the player above.

Matthew Wilkinson said despite getting home late on what should have been a normal night, he couldn’t put off working on the brakes on his work truck. When his teenage son came out to check on him, he enlisted his help. Working on the vehicle was something they’d done many times before.

This time, however, the rotor was stuck.

“I couldn't get a good angle, so I slid my body underneath the truck and was hitting it,” Matthew said. “The second it popped off, the truck fell. I know it rolled forward because I saw it roll forward and it fell right on top of me. All I could think about was the breath coming out of me. I was just squished. I couldn't talk. I couldn't yell.”

The family’s home security camera captured the terrifying moment. The accident left Matthew with a punctured lung, broken ribs and a separated shoulder. But while he was in the hospital, he said he couldn’t figure out how he had managed to free himself.

“All this time in the hospital, I’m trying to figure out how did I get out from under the truck,” he said.

It was then he remembered the surveillance cameras.

“I called my kid and had him look at them look at the surveillance camera and they realized that he had lifted the truck enough for me to roll out,” he said.

Dalin Wilkinson is 15 years old and regularly helps his dad out with work on the vehicle.

“It just dropped right on him. I was scared. I heard him make a noise like his soul was leaving his body. It was crazy,” Dalin said. “I just ran over and tried as hard as I could to get it up enough to get him out.”

It was enough.

“My son is my hero. He saved my life,” said his father.