Moore County boy hit by truck: 'God saved me'

Slayton Maness, a third-grader at Robbins Elementary School, was standing with his mother at his bus stop on Nov. 2 when the bus pulled up with its yellow lights. Karen Maness says the red lights and stop sign had not come out yet when Slayton stepped onto North Moore Road and was hit by a pickup truck.

The next thing she knew, her son was knocked 20 feet down the road, breathless and in and out of consciousness. She called 911, performed CPR and talked with him as they rode in the ambulance.

"He had blood all over his face. I had blood all over my face," she recalled. "(I told him) I love him. 'Everything will be OK. I love you.'"

Slayton did not respond. Instead, he whimpered and let out a slow cry, she said. He was flown to UNC Hospitals, where they determined that he had suffered a stroke. Slayton was in a coma for two and a half weeks and later had screws and rods placed in his neck. His mother recalled the moment he squeezed her hand.

"It was wonderful. He’s our only son. It was a miracle," she said. "God did his work on Slayton."

When asked what she remembered about that day, Maness said: "Everything. Every little sound, every moment, everything."

When a WRAL News crew visited Slayton and his mom Friday, the 9-year-old was running through leaves and swigging a Mountain Dew. He could return to school in the next six weeks.

"God saved me," Slayton said.

The truck driver, Billy Joe Binkley, of Bonlee, told troopers that he saw the bus' flashing lights and slowed down but that he did not see the boy. Troopers said he won't face any charges.