“I keep reminding him he’s the strongest, bravest little boy I know and that he’s not fighting it alone,” said the boy’s mom, Jackie Almeida
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/asher-thompson-062126-91e2ef4795084b42927222d1baa58af5.jpg "Boy, 10, left fighting for life after being hit by two cars in freak bike accident - Asher Thompson")
Credit: gofundme
NEED TO KNOW
- A 10-year-old boy is fighting for his life after he was hit by two cars while riding his bike along a Florida highway
- “All I can really do now is pray for a miracle, because the doctor said there’s nothing more that they can do,” said Asher Thompson’s mom, Jackie Almeida
- A GoFundMe created to raise funds for his medical bills explained that the boy’s leg was nearly amputated and that he suffered multiple skull fractures and swelling of the brain
A 10-year-old boy is fighting for his life in the hospital after he was struck by two cars while riding his bike in Florida.
On Friday, June 19, Asher Thompson was riding along State Road 52 in Pasco County when a vehicle struck him, forcing him into the path of a second vehicle, which also hit him, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) told local outlets WFLA and Fox 13 News.
Thompson's mother, Jackie Almeida, told WFLA that Thompson and his brother had stopped at a Circle K gas station just moments before he was struck.
“There was some incident, and I don't know all the details, but Asher got scared and ran out and just jumped on his bike and just went,” she explained. “He wasn't even thinking.”
Credit: GoFundMe
FHP has claimed that Thompson rode his bicycle into ongoing traffic.
Following the crash, Thompson was taken to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, where he remains in the pediatric intensive care unit in critical condition.
“I literally have had to walk out and, while the doctors are talking to me, I go into the bathroom and just yell at God like, ‘Help me like there's nothing more they can do. I can't lose him,' ” Almeida said. “All I can really do now is pray for a miracle, because the doctor said there's nothing more that they can do.”
While Thompson is currently in a drug-induced coma, doctors told Almeida that, if her son were to wake up, his quality of life would look much different than before. He would likely require full-time care and be unable to live independently.
Credit: GoFundMe
“I keep reminding him he's the strongest, bravest little boy I know and that he's not fighting it alone,” Almeida continued of her son. “Like we're all here. God's got him and to not give up.”
Despite not knowing if or when her son will wake up, Almeida made it clear that she does not blame either of the drivers for what happened.
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“They have to live with that for the rest of their life. And I feel awful for them,” she said, noting that one of them gave Thompson CPR until the paramedics arrived. “It's not their fault. It's not. It's not anybody's fault. Sucks stuff like this happens, you just never think it will happen to you, you know?”
In a GoFundMe created to raise funds for Thompson's medical bills, a family friend, Liz Casas, said that the boy's leg was nearly amputated and that he suffered a “significant loss of flesh,” multiple skull fractures and swelling of the brain.
In an update shared one day after the accident, Casas shared that Thompson “took a few breaths on his own for the very first time since the accident” and that he is entering a “critical healing phase.”
As Thompson continues to fight for his life, a few of his friends have dedicated their time to selling cold drinks on the side of the road to raise money for his recovery.
"I've been out here three days for eight hours straight in the sun," 15-year-old Ashton Smith told Fox 13. "This money could help him stay alive because it's really important that he makes it through."
Phoenix Rife, a fifth grader at Web of Wisdom School, added, “It's important because he needs support. He's going through a very hard time right now.”