Boy hit with balloon: I thought I'd gone blind

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

From a hospital bed, 14-year-old Miguel Mesa insisted he was fine.

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Phil Skinner, pskinner@ajc.com After he was attacked, Miguel Mesa said, "I got really scared because I thought I'd gone blind. I couldn't see anything."

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Phil Skinner, pskinner@ajc.com Dudley Molina (from left) and Juan Rivera visit with their friend Miguel Mesa who was hit by a balloon thrown at him from a passing van while walking home from school. Doctors believe that the balloon which apparently exploded in his face contained bleach.

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"I'm OK. I'm OK," Miguel told his mom.

At home Friday with two swollen eyes and a bruised face, Miguel admitted he had no idea what hit him.

It was the last day of seventh grade Wednesday, and rather than ride the school bus home, he decided to walk with two buddies. As the three walked on the sidewalk along U.S. 29, Miguel said he heard someone mention a water balloon.

Then, he was hit in the face with what Lilburn police said was a balloon filled with bleach.

"I fell down and I started freaking out and wiping off blood," Miguel told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday afternoon.  "I got really scared because I thought I'd gone blind. I couldn't see anything."

Fortunately, his two friends saw enough to give police a description of a van that continued down the road, leaving Miguel bleeding on the sidewalk.

"He was in pain. He was suffering," said Juan Rivera, a Lilburn Middle School classmate.  Of  the assailant, he said,  "I just wish we could have seen the guy."

Although most of Miguel's vision has returned, an eye specialist told the boy and his parents Friday it could take two weeks to determine if he suffered permanent damage.

He has a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, his mother, Isabel Mesa, told the AJC. Hopefully, she said, some of the bleeding in his eye will have stopped, allowing the doctor to see more.

Regaining vision is a good sign for Miguel, optometrist Blake Thornhill said, adding that bleach would likely have a similar effect as a chemical burn and could potentially cause scarring in Miguel's eyes.  (Thornhill is not treating Miguel and was speaking generally).

The balloon was one of several thrown by a passenger in a gray minivan with a black stripe, Lilburn police Capt. Bruce Hedley said. The van, with three males inside, continued northbound on U.S. 29, witnesses told police.

Several pieces of different colored balloons were found on the sidewalk and in the grass, according to the incident report obtained by the AJC.

"I'm hoping the public can help us out with this," Hedley said.

By late Friday, police had not identified a suspect. It is possible those in the van were high school students, police said.

Miguel's older sister, Connie, attends Meadowcreek High School, and she fears one of her classmates could be responsible for injuring her brother. After final exams, Connie said she and her classmates were done with school before noon on Tuesday.

"It could be someone I've seen around," Connie said.

Friday afternoon, the principal and an assistant principal at Lilburn Middle stopped by Miguel's home, bringing along cards and gifts from teachers and friends. Miguel said he's overwhelmed by the attention.

His family says Miguel is a positive kid. He insisted his face and eyes aren't hurting him, and he visited with several buddies who stopped by to check on him Friday afternoon.

Miguel's parents are optimistic that the teenager will make a full recovery. After so many hours of worry, the news Friday is encouraging, they said.

"I believe in God, and I do believe he's going to be OK," said his father, Severo Mesa. "I was so scared. No father wants to see his son like this."

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Lilburn police at 770-921-2211.