WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. -- An 8-year-old boy became impaled on part of his bicycle after crashing it, and was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital with critical injuries on Monday night.

Witnesses said Allen Jackson heard a car behind him while he and his sister were riding bikes on Hilltop Lane in Canton Township. The boy turned around to look over his shoulder, then lost control and hit a bale of hay on the side of the road.

The impact caused Allen to become airborne. He landed on his bike, and a brake handle was driven about five inches into his body, according to his older sister.

"The handlebar went straight into my stomach," Allen said.

Paramedics said the boy was bleeding severely when they arrived.

His sister, Elizabeth, used her cell phone to call their father, Scott, and tell him what had happened.

"She was crying," Scott Jackson said. "She was like, 'Dad, the handlebar's stuck in his belly.'"

But Scott Jackson said the boy stayed calm and did not panic after finding himself impaled.

"He was braver than I probably would have been," said Scott Jackson. "I was very proud of him."

A medical helicopter flew the boy to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for surgery, which lasted about 40 minutes.

The brake handle did not strike any vital organs, and Allen's condition has improved so quickly that doctors expect him to be released Tuesday night, according to his mother.

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