Raleigh teen recovering after being hit by car while sledding

A 13-year-old boy was home recovering Wednesday, a day after a close call with a car while he was sledding outside his north Raleigh home.

Joel Camplejohn broke his jaw, injured his left arm and had to have his teeth wired shut following the wreck that left him shaken. There's also a big bruise on his temple.

"Overall, I'm not in a lot of pain, which is nice," he said.

The homeschooler was with his sister and mother sledding outside their house on Clear Brook Drive. His mother saw a car coming and yelled, but Camplejohn didn't hear her or the vehicle.

"The next thing I knew, there was a car in front of my face, and I blacked out for a couple of seconds," Joel said. "Then, I was underneath the car."

"It still hasn't really set in that I was actually hit by a car," he added.

It wasn't just a scary situation for the teen.

His father, Chris Camplejohn, was upstairs in the home working and just happened to look out the window.

"I saw him go under the front of the car," he said. "I jumped out of my chair, just in a panic. When you see that happen, the worst things go through your mind immediately."

Chris Camplejohn said he dashed out of the house into the street, where he found his son conscious. He then called 911.

The driver of the car – a neighbor – won't be charged, and the Camplejohns say they don't hold a grudge against him.

"It's nowhere near his fault," Joel Camplejohn said.

Chris Camplejohn said he called the driver Tuesday night.

"We want him to be freed up from any false sense of guilt," he said.