Dormont teenager recovering after being badly injured in weekend dirt bike crash

PITTSBURGH — A Dormont teen was still at UPMC Children’s Hospital Monday after he was badly hurt in a dirt bike crash over the weekend.

His mother, Jamie Sauers, said she’s grateful her son, Alex Ewing, is alive. She’s been at the hospital by her son’s side since the crash, including on his 16th birthday Sunday.

Sauers described the moment she realized her son was in an accident.

“I was numb,” she said. “It’s something you can’t describe.”

Sauers briefly stepped away from her son’s hospital bed Monday to speak with Channel 11 News reporter Antoinette DelBel. She said she’s still making sense of it all, trying to piece together exactly what happened.

“All you see is your child on a stretcher and you just ask yourself ‘Why?’” Sauers said. “‘How did this happen? Why did this happen?’ And nobody is giving you answers.”

Sauers said her son, a 10th-grade student at Keystone Oaks High School, was riding his dirt bike down Kelton Avenue in Dormont Saturday afternoon when he and a car crashed.

The ambulance passed Sauers’ car moments later. She said she had just left the grocery store to buy a cake to celebrate her son’s 16th birthday the next day.

“I got a gut feeling as we were driving,” said Sauers. “I saw the bike on the ground and I just knew it was him.”

Sauers said her son is in a lot of pain and doesn’t remember what led up to the crash. She told Channel 11 News he has a broken jaw, among other injuries, and broke several other bones in his face.

Meantime, Sauers said she’s thankful for the community’s support. Local organizations and neighbors have been donating meals to the family of seven, leaving them on the front porch as the teen heals.

While Sauers said it could take years for him to heal, she’s just grateful he’s alive.

“My son is breathing, and he can open his eyes. I’m grateful for that,” she said. “My kid is here.”

There are still a lot of questions about the crash. Channel 11 News reached out to the Dormont Police chief and after several calls, he’d only say that the crash is under investigation.

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