Julian had run up to his mom’s SUV after she left him off at school, but Kosakowski instructed him to go back inside. He didn’t do it. Rather, he reached for the doorknob. Instead of coming to a halt, his mother accelerated.
Kosakowski revealed to authorities that she understood her kid had continued to walk alongside her SUV as she drove. According to a court document, Kosakowski allegedly confessed to turning the steering wheel from left to right, then speeding the car in an attempt to shake him free.
Julian clung to the door for about 50 yards before losing his grasp and collapsing beneath a rear tire that ran over his head and torso as his mother drove away. Julian suffered many shattered bones and a cracked head, wounds that may have killed him. Julian survived, much to the astonishment of his physicians, although he was in a coma for a week. Due to the serious wounds he sustained, he will need ongoing care and physical treatment.
Tiffany Kosakowski was charged with child abuse in the second degree and reckless driving causing severe harm. In a Michigan courtroom, Kent County Circuit Court Judge Curt Benson told the mother that what she did is just unacceptable. Her small kid has suffered horribly, the judge remarked, revealing that the back wheel collided with Julian’s whole body, complete head.
Judge Benson heard from the boy’s father, John Rodriguez, before sentencing Kosakowski, who stated his sadness was exacerbated by his numerous unsuccessful efforts to prevent a catastrophe like this from occurring.
Rodriguez said that he hadn’t seen his son in 5 years before discovering him in a coma in the ICU, although he attempted “for years” to help because Kosakowski was so unstable, so crazy, and so dangerous. Rodriguez reportedly said that he informed investigators that something is not right about Kosakowski.
His head was wrapped with wires and tubes and sensors in his mouth and all over his small body, Rodriguez recalled seeing his kid in a coma. Investigators estimated 47 yards, and someone drove 47 yards swerving left and right to shrug him off, he said. He also cited an AJC report that said Kosakowski swerved a bit and gave it a little gas. After detailing Julian’s discovery on the pavement in a pool of blood, Rodriguez noted that his kid would never be the same owing to the traumatic brain damage.
The boy is eternally altered, says the doctor. He must grow into his condition, Rodriguez urged the court, begging for a harsh punishment for Kosakowski. Others, though, had a different opinion. In reality, the court received roughly 30 letters from relatives and friends, and with the exception of letters from Julian’s father and an aunt and uncle, the majority of them showed support for Kosakowski.
Benson acknowledged the letters, but added a qualifier: Of the 30 people who wrote the letters, I’ll be quite blunt with you: I am not sure all of them would be as supportive, if they, like I, watched the security footage of this incident which is simply inexcusable,” Benson said. “It was really hard to watch, and I am not sure you would enjoy as much support as you evidently do, had that been widely distributed.”
Anna Rapa, Kosakowski’s solicitor, claimed that the mom is her children’s “sole stability,” characterizing her client as a “loving mom” whose main worry is her son’s rehabilitation. Judge Benson may have agreed to some extent since, when Kosakowski pled guilty to careless driving, she got just 30 days in prison, which she was allowed to spend on weekends so she could accompany her kid to his medical visits.
