11:27 AM PDT on Tuesday, June 13, 2006

By TERESA BELL, kgw.com Staff

SCAPPOOSE, Ore. -- A young boy is in a coma after getting pinned in a creek and under an ATV in Scappoose last week.

KGW Photo

Justin Burger as shown in a family photo.

To make matters even worse, the weight of the four-wheeler pushed the seven-year-old boy underwater for up to 20 minutes, authorities said.

Little Justin’s Burger's nine-year-old sister, Courtney discovered him in the creek and ran home to tell her grandmother who called 9-1-1.

Moments later, the boy’s father, John Burger, pulled up and rushed to Justin’s side as soon as he heard what had happened.

Although John only had minimal CPR training, he said his instincts kicked in when he found his son unconscious and blue, with no heartbeat.

“I just knew that 9-1-1 had been called and the next step is CPR because it was apparent by my mom’s reaction that he was not breathing,” John recalled.

Deputy Sheriff Greg Brody was the first emergency responder on the scene.

“The child was underwater anywhere from, we estimate, 15 to 20 minutes,” Brody said. “I think he's a very, very lucky child if he's under that water for that long. We're keeping our fingers crossed that things turn out well.”

And just this past weekend, John said his son started to show hopeful signs of improvement. He began moving his eyes and feet at the hospital.

John believes the four CPR classes that he took in the past saved Justin’s life, even though he never actually thought he’d use the training.

He said it was a wake-up call for him, and should serve as an alert for all parents.

(KGW reporter Keely Chalmers also contributed to this article.)