Waukesha Tragedy: First Child Victim Dies, 13 Other Kids Still Hospitalized Following Christmas Parade Attack

Jackson Sparks, the eight-year-old victim of the Waukesha tragedy, has succumbed to his wounds and passed away at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin while 13 more kids are still getting treatments, including Spark's 12-year-old brother, Tucker.

According to his family, Jackson had to undergo brain surgery after he was rammed by the SUV driven by Darrell E. Brooks. On the other hand, Tucker is still in the intensive care unit for treatments and observation because he fractured his skull.

More than two dozen people, including 18 children, were hospitalized after Brooks deliberately drove his vehicle onto the Christmas parade participants last November 21. Jackson is the sixth victim to have died from the incident.

As of Tuesday, however, some of the children have been sent home while the rest, ranging from three to 16 years old, continue to receive medical care for abrasions on the face and the body, broken bones, and "serious head injuries."

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'Sweet and Talented Boy'

Jeff Rogers, the Waukesha Blazers baseball club president, described Jackson as a "sweet and talented boy" who had a contagious smile. He was a Clarendon Avenue Elementary School student and was one of the utility players on his baseball team.

Jackson's parents have refused to talk to the press about his death but instead appealed for privacy. It was the children's hospital that confirmed the boy's death to the media.

Meanwhile, Brooks was arrested at the scene of the Waukesha tragedy and was present at his preliminary hearing, wherein he was charged with first-degree intentional homicide with a bail set for $5 million. According to the prosecutors, they will be lodging more charges in light of Jackson's death. They have also tagged the suspect as a flight risk.

Authorities are still unclear about Brooks' motivation for driving over his vehicle during the Christmas parade. However, court records show that he was actually out on a $1,000 bond because he previously ran over his child's mother.

CNN reported that the woman immediately filed the complaint against Brooks after the attack. Her complaint to the police indicated that she had "tire tracks on her left pants leg." Prosecutors said that the bail set for Brooks for ramming his car onto his child's mother was "set too low."

The authorities also noted that Brooks was involved in other incidents in 2020 and was registered as a sex offender in 2006.

NFL's Kevin Zeitler Offers Financial Assistance

Kevin Zeitler of the NFL Baltimore Ravens said in a tweet that he and his wife, Sara, will be shouldering the cost of Jackson's funeral and the medical expenses of the other victims. Zeitler, who is from Waukesha, felt that this was his way of letting the community know that they had support. The Zeitler couple also donated to various fund drives related to the Waukesha tragedy.

Zeitler said that he grew up watching and looking forward to the Christmas parade every year in another tweet. He could not make sense of the tragedy that transpired.

Meanwhile, police identified the other victims as Wilhelm Hospel, 81; Virginia Sorenson, 79; LeAnna Owen, 71; Tamara Durand, and Jane Kulich, who were both in their early 50s. They were members of the Dancing Grannies.

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