A motherhood content creator told her Instagram followers this week that she accidentally ran over her son with her car, injuring him.
Kelly Hopton-Jones, a 36-year-old stay-at-home mother of two, said Wednesday that what started as a normal day became “the worst day of our lives.”
Hopton-Jones, who is also a pediatric nurse practitioner, said she was planning to drive her daughter to grab doughnuts before a dance performance. Her husband, Brian, and their 23-month-old son, Henry, were supposed to stay home and meet up with them later, and were waving goodbye.
“In a matter of seconds our son was run over by our car. I was driving,” Hopton-Jones wrote in the Instagram carousel.
The parents left their daughter, Lily, with their neighbors and rushed Henry to the hospital, where they learned he had fractures to his pelvis and some abrasion, according to Hopton-Jones’ post.
“X-rays of his legs, chest, and neck are all normal. CT scan shows no injury to his organs or spinal cord. The neurological exam has been reassuring with no signs of head injury or impairment,” she wrote.
“What stays with me is the doctor saying: ‘He is hurt, but this is something he can recover from.’ A true miracle.”
Hopton-Jones, whose Hillside Farmhouse account has nearly 65,000 followers, wrote that her family is in shock and sad. But she said she believes that they’re on “the lucky side of a very tragic accident.”
Emilie Kiser, an influencer who’s son died by accidental drowning in May 2025, commented under Hopton-Jones’ post: “I’m so incredibly sorry.”
The comments on Hopton-Jones’ post include mixed opinions about her posting content the same day her son was hospitalized.
Hopton-Jones described the accident as something that can happen to parents even when they’re “not distracted” or “not rushing,” and gave advice on how not to make the same mistakes she did.
“Non negotiable to hold or hold hands with young children around vehicles,” she wrote. “Do not assume they know or will stay where you last saw them.”
Kids and Car Safety, a national nonprofit group, says 50 children are backed over by cars every week in the United States. In 70% of these incidents, a parent or close relative is behind the wheel.
“Accidents happen, and the only mistakes are the ones we don’t learn from,” she wrote in the caption.
