Shawn Nelson and Sara Allenberg thought they’d just watched their oldest son die when they saw a U-Haul box truck run him over multiple times last week.

“I was standing right there and watched the whole thing,” Nelson said. “I thought I lost my boy right then and there.”

Dominic Nelson, 19, was released from the intensive care unit of a Pittsburgh hospital Sunday night after being hit by a box truck July 20 on Carol Drive in Saxonburg.

The driver, Dennis Ellwood Wolff, 74, continued driving down the street after hitting Dominic, where he got out of the vehicle and threw Dominic’s hat from the hood of the U-Haul into the bushes, according to police. Wolff then returned the truck.

Saxonburg police said Wolff had run over the teen, stopped the truck over Dominic when bystanders began yelling, but then drove forward, striking Dominic again with the rear wheels.

Wolff was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and accident involving injury and one misdemeanor count each of tampering with evidence and simple assault.

Dominic required five surgeries and three blood transfusions for doctors to reconnect his pelvis and tailbone to his spine after being drug about 30 feet by the U-Haul with both parents chasing behind, his father said.

His pelvic bone was broken in four places with hairline fractures throughout, his tailbone had been disconnected, and he suffered five broken vertebrae, a “busted” shoulder, all ribs broken on one side, a collapsed lung and required a catheter for multiple days.

“He’s got tire treads on his neck and going down (his body),” his father said.

His parents said their son is traumatized after the incident. He’s having nightmares and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and is afraid he’ll never be active again.

“He’s ridden dirt bikes since he was 3 years old, so this is killing him,” Shawn Nelson said. “He’s a really active kid, and this has crushed his whole world.”

His doctors have not given the family a timeline on when surgeries will be over or when they may be able to leave the hospital.

His parents said Dominic worked at Penn Fencing before the incident. He’s an “outdoor kid” who loves climbing, fishing, hunting and farming his ducks, chickens and goats.

Dominic’s 8-year-old sister doesn’t completely understand what happened to her big brother, but she and his 16-year-old brother and their parents haven’t left his side.

“The two of them have been at the hospital every single day,” Allenberg said.

Dominic has no feeling in one of his arms and legs, along with about half his body after the surgeries, and cannot stand by himself. Nurses helped him stand on one leg Monday, but only for a few seconds, his father said.

“They haven’t been able to manage his pain great,” Allenberg said.

As a father who also has surgical metal in his body, Shawn Nelson knows his son will live with some discomfort for the rest of his life.

“Cold days are going to hurt. Rainy days are going to hurt,” he said. “I’m praying every day that he gets the feeling back.”

Despite the uncertainty in Dominic’s future, he hasn’t lost his heart, Allenberg said.

After Dominic regained consciousness his second day in the hospital, the first thing he asked was about a boy who his parents said was in the U-Haul with Wolff when he struck Dominic.

He’s also been keeping track of all the nurses who care for him and wants to thank them after his stay is over.

“He has the biggest heart in the world,” Allenberg said.

While the family cared for Dominic, the community cared for the family.

A friend of Dominic’s, Mackenzie Schaffer, started a GoFundMe campaign.

The campaign received 28 donations and raised $2,920 in its first seven days.

“By coming together to support Dominic, we can help ease some of the stress and allow him to focus on getting better rather than worrying about how to pay for his care,” Schaffer wrote in the fundraiser.

Shawn Nelson is also heavily involved in the motorcycle community in Butler County and has received plenty of support from it, including donations of meals and gift cards. The family also received a discount on parking in Pittsburgh.

“Any rational person can’t make sense of it,” Allenberg said.