Local candidate’s son seriously injured in rollover

December 21, 2007 - 5:57 PM

The 21-year-old son of a Yermo man running for State Assembly was seriously injured on Friday morning when his vehicle rolled over in Santa Ana.

Aaron Harris, the step-son of Bob Smith, was transported to the intensive care unit of the Western Medical Center in Santa Ana after the rollover. Harris was placed into a medically-induced coma and underwent emergency brain surgery, due to swelling around his brain, Smith said.

He said doctors are unsure if Harris will survive.

“Right now we’re in a waiting game and it’s not looking real good,” he said. “The critical period is the next 72 hours.”

Smith said that he’s not sure what caused the rollover or where it occurred.

Paul Courtney, a friend of Smith’s, said that Smith and his wife Deborah were at Harris’ hospital room in Santa Ana as doctors perform the surgery.

“I couldn’t even imagine what Bob and Debbie are going through,” Courtney said.

Contact the writer:

(760) 256-4126 or jason_smith@link.freedom.com