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Largo Youth Honored For Using His Head

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2008

LARGO - Breaking into a grin every now and then, 11-year-old Johnathon Ferland seemed to wonder what all the fuss was about Monday as he was celebrated as a model for bicycle safety.

The local police chief and a representative from All Children's Hospital, among others, congratulated him for having on his bicycle helmet Jan. 29 as he was waiting to walk his bicycle across a crosswalk.

A driverless truck nearby lost its brakes, started rolling, and knocked down a sign and a pole, both of which came crashing onto the boy, witnesses said. The sign cut him in the neck, less than an inch from his jugular vein, and it took 22 stitches to close the gash, the boy said. The pole struck him on the head.

If he had not been wearing his helmet, the Largo Middle School sixth-grader might not have survived the accident, speakers noted as they gave him a certificate of recognition and two new helmets, among other things.

One of the helmets came from The Ian Tilmann Foundation, named after a 28-year-old man who was not wearing a helmet while skateboarding and died after an accident. Tilmann's mother, Marcy, gave Johnathon a helmet and congratulated him for having done what her son didn't.

"I'm getting attention for something I do every day," Johnathon said after the awards ceremony at Largo Middle School. He credits his mother.

"If I wouldn't wear my helmet, she would keep on nagging me," he said. He did admit he sometimes takes his helmet off - when his head itches - but then he just scratches his head and puts it back on.

Two crossing guards - Agnes Hammer, 49, and John Stewart, 77 - received certificates of appreciation. Stewart lifted the 40-pound pole off the boy, and Hammer comforted Johnathon until paramedics arrived.

"I am so happy to see him smiling again," Hammer said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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