Runaway car rips through garage and kills 12-year-old Georgia boy looking for hamster

Braden Stevenson was a “vibrant” child who was “full of life,” his father said, according to WXIA. He loved dancing — especially the viral “floss” dance, which his dad said Braden could do “better than anybody.”

But in a Thanksgiving-eve tragedy, Braden and another boy were hit by a runaway car that smashed through a closed garage door as the two were looking for a lost hamster in Covington, Georgia, the Covington News reported.

“I’m thankful that God has given me 12 years with my son. I’m thankful that I have memories with him,” said Cory Stevenson, Braden’s father, according to WSB.

Stevenson said he was on the phone with his son as Braden and another boy, Lucas McWilliams, 12, searched for a hamster that had gotten loose in the garage, the station reported. On the phone there was a crash sound, and then nothing.

“I could hear everything on the phone. I was crying out for him, and he wasn’t answering,” Braden’s dad said, according to the station.

Police reported that the driver of a 1997 Dodge Ram had overcorrected on a turn and ripped through the closed garage door, hitting Lucas and another car in the garage, which slammed into Bradon and pinned him underneath it, the Covington News reported.

Braden was killed, and Lucas was seriously inured and airlifted to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, according to the paper.

A GoFundMe for Lucas says the boy has already undergone multiple surgeries, including “a plate from his hip to his knee, pins in both knees, a halo to hold his tibia and femur together, and 41 units worth of blood transfusions.”

“Multiple” other surgeries were expected over the next few weeks, including one on Thanksgiving, according to the account. A latest update said he was still in critical condition and “losing blood as fast as they are giving it to him.”

Charges are pending against the driver, CBS 46 reported.

“Two kids in a garage looking for a hamster out of innocence, out of love ... and out of nowhere a vehicle comes crashing into your garage. No one can imagine that. I couldn’t imagine it,” Steven said, according to WXIA.

“I hate that the memories stop. There can’t be any more made after this,” he said, according to WSB.

“As you gather with your family this Holiday season, hold them close and cherish each moment. Please continue to send prayers for these two families in the days, weeks and months to come. We also ask that you lift up in prayer the driver of the vehicle, as they too must be facing devastating grief of their own,” another GoFundMe for Braden and Lucas reads.