VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A normal day turned into a life-changing moment in seconds.
A 17-year-old Special Olympics athlete, Juaquin Perry, is recovering after he was hit by a car when he ran into traffic near Interstate 95. His family said he was startled by a stranger, and what happened next left them terrified. But they said strangers also stepped in to help.
His mother, Arcadia LaBounty, said she is grateful he survived.
“I’d say there was a flood of thoughts that ran through my head, from what are we going to do to is he going to be OK,” LaBounty said.
LaBounty said Perry has Down syndrome and believes the encounter triggered him to run across the busy roadway.
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“We were in between apartments, so we were staying in a hotel. Somebody came out and they were speaking very inappropriately. It made him uncomfortable,” LaBounty said.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Perry hopped a fence, ran into traffic and was hit by an SUV in the northbound lanes near mile marker 261.
Troopers said the SUVs front right corner struck him, sending him backward into the middle lane.
“He broke his jaw in two places. He has some fractures to his left arm, humerus, and his right shoulder blade, and his pelvis has a couple of breaks, but there are no operations needed there,” LaBounty said.
A witness told troopers it happened so fast the driver had no chance to avoid the crash. The FHP said the driver was not at fault and that the same witness helped move Perry to safety.
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“Somebody stayed and put a blanket on my child. If I can just thank them for treating him so sincerely and treating my son with respect and love,” LaBounty said.
LaBounty said Perry is expected to need time to recover, but she believes he will return to competition.
“I have the utmost expectations that next year for Special Olympics, we’ll be heading to Jacksonville that weekend instead of waiting in the hospital like we are this weekend,” LaBounty said. She said he is already talking and hopes to attend graduation in May, even if it is in a wheelchair.