Community rallies for hospitalized Camarillo teen




‘A HEART OF GOLD’—Ethan Jordan, a 14-year-old Camarillo resident, was seriously injured earlier this month while riding his bike at the Camarillo Premium Outlets. Courtesy photo

‘A HEART OF GOLD’—Ethan Jordan, a 14-year-old Camarillo resident, was seriously injured earlier this month while riding his bike at the Camarillo Premium Outlets. Courtesy photo

Ethan Jordan could often be seen riding his bike through his Camarillo neighborhood with friends after school. But earlier this month, the 14-year-old was hit by a car while riding and suffered major injuries that have left him in the hospital.

Friends and family are now asking the community for help.

“Ethan is funny, awesome and amazing” said Nova Jordan, Ethan’s stepmother.

Ethan and his friend, also a 14-year-old Camarillo resident, were riding their bikes through a parking lot at the Camarillo Premium Outlets in the early afternoon on Aug. 5 when they were both struck by a car headed south on Promenade Drive, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies arrived just before 12:30 p.m. The driver, a 68-year-old woman from Newbury Park, waited for deputies and cooperated with the investigation, police said.

The Camarillo Police Department’s traffic bureau is investigating the collision, but Senior Dep. Luke Riordan said he does not believe a crime occurred.

The other boy sustained minor injuries and was released from the hospital. Ethan has been transferred to a hospital in Los Angeles and was still in serious condition as of Aug. 17.

Ethan was pinned beneath the car and was in cardiac arrest when first responders arrived, Nova Jordan said. He suffered a collapsed lung, a cracked sternum, a fractured vertebra and road rash.

With their time spent visiting Ethan in the hospital or caring for their six other children, Jon and Nova Jordan are unable to work.

Camarillo resident Christina Culp organized a GoFundMe campaign with the Jordans’ permission shortly after learning of the collision. She hopes the donations will help the family with hospital bills and other expenses.

“I’ve never done this before, but I knew I needed to do something,” Culp said. “I wanted to see if I could lighten their load just a little bit so that their main focus is Ethan.”

Culp’s 14-year-old daughter, Kailin, is best friends with Ethan. The two recently graduated from Las Colinas Middle School and were set to begin their freshman year at Adolfo Camarillo High School on Wednesday.

“He helped me through eighth grade, and I want to help him through this any way I can,” Kailin said. “Anytime I was going through anything, he was there, and if he needed someone, I was there. That’s not going to change.”

Any parent would be lucky to have someone like Ethan as their child’s friend, Culp said.

“He’s a great kid who has a heart of gold,” she said. “He is funny and so respectful. . . . He likes to make people laugh.”

Ethan, Culp said, rode his bike throughout Camarillo almost every day. Last year, he went out of his way to ride his bike to Kailin’s house so they could walk to school together.

“Anywhere they went—the two of them and their other friends—they’d all ride their bikes there,” Culp said, adding that Ethan and her daughter had cycled to the shopping center together many times before. “This whole thing just breaks my heart.”

The fundraising campaign had raised roughly $12,900 as of Aug. 18, and Culp said she encourages anyone who is capable of donating to do so.

“To everyone who’s donated, I want to thank them so much for their support for the family,” she said. “They’ve got a long road ahead. This is just the very beginning.”

To make a donation, go to gofund.me/1553ee5a.