The West Linn dad who used his body to shield his five-year-old son from a drugged-up driver remains in the hospital with traumatic injuries but his wife and son were well enough to go home, a family spokesman said.

kgw.com photo

Brad, Tracy and John Herbert in a photo from the family.

Brad Herbert, his wife Tracy and their young son, John were run over by a minivan while walking along a sidewalk in West Linn last week. The man who hit them, while speeding backwards, later admitted to police that he had taken a dangerous combination of prescription drugs before driving: Ambien, Prozac and Demerol.

Witnesses said Thomas Haymore, a West Linn dentist, urinated outside a Starbucks coffee shop and then climbed into his minivan and started speeding backwards across a parking lot. Then, he careened over a curb, hit a tree, and barreled through some bushes onto Solamo Rd., where the family was walking.

 Background: Driver admits he took drug mixture

Brad saw the van coming and, in the mere seconds that went by, managed to shield his son from the impact, according to Glen Barger, an attorney hired by the Herberts. He said all three were hit but survived although Brad’s injuries were especially traumatic.

KGW photo

The minivan finally stopped here, in some bushes, after hitting the family.

“As a result of his heroic effort Brad was run over and drug by the van," Barger explained. “Tracy and John are now at home recovering from being struck by the van. Brad unfortunately has not been able to return home at this time. Brad suffered abdominal injuries which required him to be airlifted to Emanuel Trauma Center to undergo surgery.”

Barger said Brad was expected to remain hospitalized for at least one more week.

Friends have established The Brad Herbert Medical Fund to help with the family’s growing medical expenses. Contributions can be made at any local Bank of America branch.

Meantime, police were able to track down and arrest Haymore. He appeared in court through closed-circuit television last Tuesday and requested permission to attend a drug treatment program out of state. He was charged with assault, DUII and reckless endangerment.