DELAND, Fla. – A security camera captured a close call when a 12-year-old quickly pulled himself and a friend out of the path of a car that illegally entered their bike lane at a stop sign in DeLand on Thursday.
Home security camera video shows Tristan Johnson’s split-second decision to pull himself and his friend out of harm’s way as a car illegally plowed into their lane on Blue Grass Boulevard.
“It was scary. I wasn’t expecting it,” Tristan Johnson told us.
The boys had been sitting at the stop sign for nearly 30 seconds on their e-bikes.
“He didn’t have a blinker on, so I didn’t know if he was going straight or making a turn,” Tristan Johnson explained.
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He says the driver stopped and confronted them, even accusing the boys of cutting him off. Tristan’s mom, Bonnie Johnson, was outraged after seeing the video.
“There is no value you can place on a child’s life when someone is driving as carelessly and erratically as that driver,” she said.
Neighbor Andy Pipkins caught it all on his security camera.
“It seems like the stop sign is optional,” Pipkins said.
He told us the problem happens constantly, and while we were there, we saw multiple drivers do the same thing.
He added, “I wasn’t very surprised. I was just glad to see the boys didn’t get hurt.”
Bonnie Johnson says she wants the driver found and held accountable.
“I am going to make sure they do something. They follow up and hold the driver accountable for careless driving, if nothing else,” she said.
Tristan Johnson said he just wants people to be more cautious.
“Just be careful when you’re driving, ‘cause a second can take another person,” he warned.
Tristan Johnson and his mom also claim the driver was texting while behind the wheel. They say other child’s bike was damaged in the incident.
We reached out to DeLand police, who said they plan to follow up on Monday.