DELAND, Fla. – In a tense moment captured by a security camera, a 12-year-old boy swiftly pulled himself and his friend away from a dangerous situation when a vehicle illegally entered their bike lane at a stop sign in DeLand on Thursday.
The footage from a home security camera reveals Tristan Johnson’s quick reflexes as he grabbed himself and his friend to safety just as a car wrongly drove 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.
According to Tristan, the driver halted and confronted them, going so far as to claim the boys were at fault for cutting him off. Tristan’s mother, Bonnie Johnson, expressed her anger after watching 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.
Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
