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Toddler left in cast after dad tries to kill him

ARAPAHOE COUNTY – Isaiah, 2-and-a-half, can't move very well because half of his little body is in a cast. He survived a crash, orchestrated by his father, who put him in a car, left him intentionally unbuckled, and drove into several cars at 75 miles per hour.

<p>Isaiah left in a cast after his father tried to kill him </p>

ARAPAHOE COUNTY – Isaiah, 2-and-a-half, can’t move very well because half of his little body is in a cast. He survived a crash, orchestrated by his father, who put him in a car, left him intentionally unbuckled, and drove into several cars at 75 miles per hour.

Isaiah’s dad told Arapahoe County investigators, “the reason he wanted to kill Isaiah was because being a father was a big responsibility and he did not think he was man enough to raise a child.”

Nathan Weitzel, 29, is in the Arapahoe County Jail and charged with attempted first-degree murder, child abuse, assault, criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance and vehicular assault.

"He's in the place that he should be," Isaiah's mom, Nancy Lopez, said. "He needs to be in jail for a long time."

Nathan&nbsp;Weitzel

The crash happened Aug. 21 at 11 a.m. According to court records obtained by 9Wants To Know, Weitzel put his seat belt on, but told deputies he didn’t put his son in a child seat and didn’t restrain him on purpose.

“I was trying to kill my son,” Weitzel told investigators.

Court records say Weitzel told the detectives he took his son to the park to play.

“While he was at the park letting Isaiah play he sat in the park and thought of a way to kill his son,” a statement said. “Nathan said he left the park [and] he drove around looking for a good place to crash the car and kill his son.”

Weitzel told police he used cocaine that day.

According to court records, investigators saw witnesses holding Isaiah after the crash. When a sheriff’s deputy took over holding Isaiah’s head, to make sure his neck was still, Isaiah was crying and “appeared to be fading in and out of consciousness.”

One of those witnesses was Sam Schulte, who lives down the street and heard the crash.

"I pulled the window off, and I pulled the door open, my neighbor got him out of the car and put him on the ground," Schulte said.

He says he then tried to comfort the boy by rubbing his back.

The crash happened in Cindy Rosa's next door neighbor's yard. While she was calling 911, she says she saw Weitzel "hitting the child ... it looked like an elbow. It was horrifying."

Isaiah was taken to Children’s Hospital Colorado, where he was treated and went home after several days.

Lopez says she takes care of Isaiah full-time, but the toddler spends weekends with his dad. He was supposed to be brought back to his mom Sunday afternoon, before the crash. Despite Weitzel's statements that he didn't want to be a father, Lopez says Isaiah was planned.

“He used to be a really good climber,” Lopez said. “He loves to play and run around. He can’t walk now; he’s not going to be walking for another two months.”

Isaiah loves stuffed animals and Spiderman, his favorite color is green. He loves “Finding Nemo,” cars and dinosaurs.

“He’s a really caring boy,” Lopez told 9NEWS, “He’s really compassionate with other kids.”

Isaiah does have a very long recovery ahead of him. He has a cast on half his body and stitches on his head.

“I don’t understand why or how he could do something like this, but I’m hoping Isaiah recovers soon people pray for us and for my son to get better," Lopez said.

A GoFundMe account was started to pay for his recovery: https://www.gofundme.com/2a6aqv3g.

9NEWS Anchor Vicente Arenas contributed to this report.

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