Bike helmet saved Largo boy's life, police say

Johnathon Ferland, 11, was riding his bike home from school when he was hit in the head by a falling pole.  His mom Tara Bickler (background) always insists her son wear his helmet.   [Jim Damaske  |  Times]

LARGO -- A Largo Middle School sixth-grader is probably alive today because he was wearing his bicycle helmet Tuesday afternoon.

And 11-year-old Johnathon Ferland wasn't even riding his bike when the helmet saved his life.

Instead, police say, he was standing with his bike on the side of the road at Eighth Avenue SW and Ridge Road when a freak accident took place.

A 1979 Chevrolet truck was trying to back into a parking space at the neighboring Fifth Third Bank when its brakes failed. The truck jumped the curb, went across some grass and hit two poles. One of those poles -- a pedestrian crossing sign post about 10 feet tall and four inches thick -- fell on the 93-pound boy's head, knocking him into the pavement.

Johnathon said he remembers the truck rolling backwards toward him and some classmates, and the truck driver, who was later cited for not having proper brakes, yelling for the kids to move.

"I was trying to move out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough," Johnathon said in an interview today.

A crossing guard and a Largo police sergeant who was working an off-duty job at the bank helped treat the until fire rescue arrived.

Johnathon's mother, 36-year-old nurse Tara Bickler, also rushed to the scene after a school resource officer called her at home.

"It was a parent's worst nightmare," she said today.

The impact of the pole cracked Johnathon's bike helmet in several places, and a metal sign attached to the post sliced into his neck near a major artery. He also suffered minor injuries to his face and a concussion, according to Largo police Lt. Mike Loux. He was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, then transferred to All Children's Hospital.

Johnathon said he's afraid of heights, so the idea of flying in the helicopter ambulance scared him. But his mother told him he would be strapped down and wouldn't see how high he was.

Johnathon was released from the hospital today and plans to return to school Monday, wearing a new bicycle helmet. His mother said she would like to wrap him in bubble wrap.

-- Jonathan Abel, Times staff writer

Photo: The impact of the pole cracked Johnathon's bike helmet in several places. Click to enlarge.  [Jim Damaske  |  Times]

Johnathon Ferland, 11, was riding his bike home from school when he was hit in the head by a falling pole.  His mom Tara Bickler (background) always insists her son wear his helmet.   [Jim Damaske  |  Times]

LARGO -- A Largo Middle School sixth-grader is probably alive today because he was wearing his bicycle helmet Tuesday afternoon.

And 11-year-old Johnathon Ferland wasn't even riding his bike when the helmet saved his life.

Instead, police say, he was standing with his bike on the side of the road at Eighth Avenue SW and Ridge Road when a freak accident took place.

A 1979 Chevrolet truck was trying to back into a parking space at the neighboring Fifth Third Bank when its brakes failed. The truck jumped the curb, went across some grass and hit two poles. One of those poles -- a pedestrian crossing sign post about 10 feet tall and four inches thick -- fell on the 93-pound boy's head, knocking him into the pavement.

Johnathon said he remembers the truck rolling backwards toward him and some classmates, and the truck driver, who was later cited for not having proper brakes, yelling for the kids to move.

"I was trying to move out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough," Johnathon said in an interview today.

A crossing guard and a Largo police sergeant who was working an off-duty job at the bank helped treat the until fire rescue arrived.

Johnathon's mother, 36-year-old nurse Tara Bickler, also rushed to the scene after a school resource officer called her at home.

"It was a parent's worst nightmare," she said today.

The impact of the pole cracked Johnathon's bike helmet in several places, and a metal sign attached to the post sliced into his neck near a major artery. He also suffered minor injuries to his face and a concussion, according to Largo police Lt. Mike Loux. He was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, then transferred to All Children's Hospital.

Johnathon said he's afraid of heights, so the idea of flying in the helicopter ambulance scared him. But his mother told him he would be strapped down and wouldn't see how high he was.

Johnathon was released from the hospital today and plans to return to school Monday, wearing a new bicycle helmet. His mother said she would like to wrap him in bubble wrap.

-- Jonathan Abel, Times staff writer

Photo: The impact of the pole cracked Johnathon's bike helmet in several places. Click to enlarge.  [Jim Damaske  |  Times]