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Family: 5-year-old boy hit by truck on Horton Ave will make full recovery

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Marelin Galdamez, 9, holds up a photo of her 5-year-old brother Zelhvin, who was hit by a truck outside their home Wednesday night. Zelhvin, seen here during a family vacation to Florida, was not seriously injured in the accident.

The young boy who was hit by a pickup truck on Horton Avenue Wednesday night suffered a fractured shoulder and a cut on his ear, but is expected to make a full recovery, the boy’s sister said in an interview Thursday afternoon.

Five-year-old Zelhvin Galdamez was crossing the street with a neighbor and other local children near his house by the traffic circle at about 8 p.m. when he was hit by a 1997 Mazda B2300 truck traveling north on Horton Avenue, family members and police said.

The truck was driven by Cornelius Trent, 41, of Flanders who was unable to stop his truck in time, according to a police statement. Mr. Trent said he was heading home from work when the accident happened, police and the man’s wife told the News-Review.

“We heard that someone was screaming so we ran outside to see what happened,” said the boy’s sister, 9-year-old Marelin Galdamez. “I said ‘No! No no no!’ That can’t be my little brother. And I cried and cried and cried.”

Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance EMTs responded to the accident, police said, and the boy was airlifted by a Suffolk County Police helicopter to Stony Brook University Medical Center for treatment. Marelin said her little brother was brave and didn’t make a fuss.

“He was a tough man,” she said. “He didn’t even cry when [the EMTs] put the needle in [his arm].” Zelhvin is still in the hospital, she said speaking on behalf of her family, and will return home tonight or tomorrow.

Marelin said her brother will have to wear a sling for the next four to six weeks while he recovers, but added that he didn’t suffer a head injury nor any lasting damage. His father, Rogelio Galdamez, is staying with the boy in the hospital while he is treated, she said.

Marelin said that vehicles sometimes drive fast down the road and said there should be traffic signs to stop people from speeding.

“There should be a sign saying there’s a speed limit or that there’s kids playing,” she said.

Mr. Trent was not charged in the incident, police said.

This was the second time in just under a year that ambulances and police rushed to an emergency at the Galdamez household.

Last July, Mr. Galdamez became trapped under his pickup truck when a jack gave way. The truck began to roll down the driveway, pinning him under the truck and dragging Mr. Galdamez into the street.

As neighbors rushed to help, Marelin, then 8 years old, immediately called 911. Police and Riverhead ambulance volunteers soon arrived on the scene.

Mr. Galdamez was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center and made a full recovery, thanks to the help of his neighbors and quick-thinking daughter.