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4-Year-Old Boy Expected To Make Full Recovery Following 'Internal Decapitation'

BOISE, Idaho (CBSNewYork/CBS News/AP)-- A 4-year-old boy doctors say suffered what's known as an internal decapitation in a car crash in southwestern Idaho is expected to make a full recovery thanks to a good Samaritan who held his head steady.

KBOI-TV reports that Killian Gonzalez and his mom, Brandy Gonzalez, were heading home to Nevada when ice on State Highway 51 caused a head-on crash May 22.

Leah Woodward and her husband, a police officer stopped to help. Woodward held the child steady for more than half an hour until emergency responders arrived.

"I'm trying to stay calm but inside I'm panicking," she said. "I'm thinking I don't know what I'm doing, and it was the worst feeling I've ever had to not know how to help."

Killian is recovering at a children's hospital in Boise from the rare condition in which his skull was separated from his spine.

"No mom should lose their child and she gets to have her boy. That's really awesome," Woodward said.

Brandy Gonzalez broke an arm, ankle and leg. She's recovering at a different Boise hospital.

A GoFundMe page has been created for Killian and Brandy Gonzalez to help pay for medical expenses.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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