KNOXVILLE, Tenn — A father of five children is fighting to recover after being pinned under a car in the early hours of Monday morning, the night of the Fourth of July.
Coty Treadway was sitting on his neighbor's porch when a car crashed into him. A firework had been shot into it as people in the neighborhood launched them aimed at each other. Dozens of fireworks, BB guns and paintball guns lit up Texas Avenue in Knoxville around 1 a.m.
Several other people were injured overnight as a result of the incident. As of Wednesday, no citations or arrests have been made.
"He wasn't doing anything. That's what he kept telling me was `I didn't do anything dad,'" said Treadway's father, Michael.
Soon after the blasts started, a firework went off inside one of the cars in the area. The Knoxville Police Department said it caused the driver to crash into the porch that Treadway and his neighbor were relaxing on.
"He said the car came out, hit another car, and he pushed his friend and it came and hit him on the chest across the porch," said Michael.
He was pinned under the car for several minutes and videos from bystanders show dozens of witnesses around the home. Some worked to lift the car, others pulled people out from inside the car.
Treadway escaped death on the Fourth of July, but now he is fighting to survive in a hospital.
"It crushed him, it slammed on him," said Michael.
The impact of the car crushed almost every inch of his body. According to his father, he has a hole in his spine as well as two broken legs. His pelvic bone, collarbone and ribs are also broken. There are also two holes in his lungs, according to Michael.
"It's gonna be a hard road getting there," he said. "He's got five children to take care of. He can't work."
His wife, Chelsey, said she is still in shock after watching the crash play out right in front of her.
"He takes care of his kids, and was trying to do right by working every day and providing," she said.
The family is seeking justice. They said it's unfair that no person has been charged for the devastation their family is enduring.
KPD said no citations or arrests have been made because they're still investigating what led to the crash. They also said the incident did not warrant immediate charges.
A second car crashed into the AC unit at the home. The people inside the car left the scene and have still not been located, according to KPD.