Crime Scene

All of us on the criminal justice beat can point to a handful of stories we seem coming back to. Sometimes it’s unavoidable: The case keeps turning up in court or on appeal or whatever. But sometimes we take it on ourselves to keep in touch.

One such story for me is the case of Eli Wilson, a 3-year-old boy from Pittsburgh who nearly drowned Aug. 19 during a family outing at Putnam Lake. His aunt, Gladys Mendoza, drowned saving Eli’s life. I’ve updated this story several times over the past few months, and anyone who has read them knows Eli is doing amazingly well. Doctors at the Children’s Institute in Pittsburgh were pleasantly surprised at the speed of his recovery, considering life-saving measures were required to keep him breathing at the outset.

Well, Eli was back in town this weekend. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t learn in time to get out there and see him and write about it. His parents said they took him to visit with Patterson firefighters on Saturday, and to visit nurses and doctor’s at the children’s hospital at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla last night. Turns out little Eli has become something of a celebrity in places that played a role in saving his young life.

The way I see it, better a celebrity than a victim.