Father of South Bend baby killed in semi truck crash forgives wrongful driver

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - The father of a baby, who died in a semi truck crash in Peru earlier this week, is speaking out for the very first time since the death of his son.

Police say six-month old Leo Wallace of South Bend died of his injuries after the vehicle his mother was driving was rear-ended by a semi truck at stop light Monday afternoon.

“Sometimes, my mind tries to go like, what did he experience in those finals moments but, I don’t know, I hope that it was just...painless and....I hope he just knows how much he meant to so many people and hope that he is able to see that now, and if I had that chance, I would continue to communicated that with him,” Leo’s father, Alex Wallace, said while tears filled his eyes.

Leo’s mother, Sarah Wallace, and sister, Cecilia Wallace, were both flown to separate hospitals with sever to life threatening injuries following the crash.

While Alex was extremely heartbroken during in an interview with 16 News Now Wednesday by the loss of his only son, he says he is remaining positive and staying strong for his family.

“What I know now is that we are fighting to take care of the one child we have alive now and that’s where our focus is and we know that he, Leo, is praying for his sister now too. He is doing great things in a place they we hope to be in one day too,” Alex says.

Alex has even gone as far as to forgive the semi truck driver, who police say wrongfully ran through the stop light and ultimately caused Leo’s death.

“I think first and foremost is to not be angry at this person. Things happen and we pray for him, or her. We pray for that person. We pray that all will turn out well in their life and that they know that they have been forgiven,” Alex Wallace said.

Alex also had good news to share Thursday. Sarah, who was airlifted to a local hospital in Fort Wayne following the crash, was released from the hospital Tuesday evening with minimal bruising and soreness and is doing very well.

According to Alex, both him and his wife are now at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis where their 2-year-old daughter, Cecilia, underwent successful surgery to repair a broken femur.

Alex says Cecilia also suffered multiple fractures to her skull but is in stable condition.

Alex says after visiting Cecillia’s God parents last week in Carmel, Indiana, Sarah and the kids were on their way to their South Bend home, where Alex was waiting for them Monday afternoon.

But unfortunately, they never made it leaving the next person to knock on Alex’s door...a state trooper.

“He said I have some news for you. Your wife was in a car accident and she’s being flown to Lutheran and Cecilia is being flown to Riley. I said, ‘Okay, there’s three there. Where’s Leo?’And he passed me the phone, his personal phone, because somebody had called him from the Peru area who said that Leo had died,” Alex said.

It was at that moment Alex said his mind began racing to several different places.

“I was trying to think how do I cut myself in half to go to each direction and be with both people that matter. How do I not cut myself into a third to be with my son even though I know that he’s dead, like to be present with his body,” Alex said.

Alex says what he will miss most about little-Leo is his smile.

“Us just looking at each other and me smiling and then him bringing that smile back,” Alex says.

In order to keep everyone in touch with the long journey ahead for both Alex and Sarah Wallace, Alex says he has started a new blog called “Alex & Sarah’s Story”, so family, friends, and loved ones can follow along, including the very people who have helped support the Wallace family and has helped raise more than $94,000 dollars via GoFundMe within 48 hours of the crash.

To donate to the Wallace family, click here.

To view the latest from the new Wallace family blog, visit https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/thewallacefamily.

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