Does anyone remember the 2001 movie Bubble Boy starring Jake Gyllenhaal? The premise always freaked me out: A boy born without an immune system is forced to live in a plastic dome. Despite developing one at 4 years old, in a desperate attempt to shield him from the world, his overbearing mother fools him into believing he still has the medical issue and is unable to to leave home at all. As a preteen, this was nothing short of a horrifying thought. As an adult with a child, I can now say I at the very least empathize with the mom.
Sometimes, I wish I could cover my son in bubble wrap before he walks off into the world, especially after hearing about devastating accidents like the one a 9-year-old North Carolina boy suffered at the hands of a driver under the influence.
Theodore Gause, 51, was allegedly driving impaired by several different drugs and plowed into a boy sitting on his bike in his driveway.
Gause is facing multiple felony charges including serious injury by a vehicle, felony hit and run, driving while impaired, driving with a revoked license, and several vehicle registration violations, Law & Crime reported. The Wilmington, North Carolina, Police Department detailed in a Facebook statement that Gause “crossed the centerline and veered off the roadway” before hitting the individual and subsequently careening into a retaining wall.
After hitting the victim, Gause tried to leave on foot, eyewitnesses shared, per WECT.
The unnamed child’s leg was severed from his body in the crash.
The 9-year-old, along with the car, flew into the retaining wall, leaving him also with a cut to his forehead and a fractured tailbone. WECT also noted that Gause told investigators he believed he hit a curb and once he saw it was a child, he decided to try and run away. In court, it was revealed that hospital testing showed benzodiazepines, cocaine, and opiates were present in Gause’s system at the time of the accident.
Court records reviewed by Law & Crime indicate Guase has an extensive criminal background.
In fact, he was released from prison almost a full year ago in May 2025, and his parole recently ended on March 6. Law & Crime also noted his criminal activity is “assaultive in nature.”
“[Gause] should have known that the vehicle he was operating was involved in a collision, and that collision resulted in serious injury to [the victim],” states an arrest warrant obtained by the outlet. “The defendant unlawfully and willfully did operate motor vehicle on street or highway while the defendant’s driver’s license was revoked.”
Guase is being held on a $31 million bond and is due back in court May 7. The victim was hospitalized in Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, but no current udpate on his condition has been shared.
