“I realized his arm had an open fracture,” the 14-year-old’s mother said. “I can see the large hematoma on his head, and he’s just screaming in pain.”
ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — A 14‑year‑old boy is recovering from a serious mini motorbike crash near Mayport Road that left him with multiple broken bones, a lacerated spleen and a head injury.
Tracy Diana said her son, Jaimon “JT” Cohens, was riding his mini motorbike the night of March 23 when he collided with another rider in a head‑on crash near a busy intersection just off Mayport Road, close to a laundromat and café.
Both were on mini motorbikes and were traveling at an estimated 30 to 35 mph, which Diana said “doesn’t seem like a lot” in a car, “but on a mini motorbike, that’s pretty fast.”
Diana was getting ready for bed when JT’s friend knocked on her door with a look she’ll never forget.
“His friend came in the door with the most awful face and my heart dropped,” she said. “He was like, ‘JT was in an accident.’”
Diana, a nurse, rushed to the scene and found her son lying in the middle of the road. She described seeing an open fracture in his arm, with bone protruding, a large hematoma on his head and JT screaming in pain.
“I was so grateful that my child was alive, because it could have been a different story,” Diana said.
At UF Health Wolfson Children’s Hospital, surgeons operated on his arm and stabilized his leg. Doctors later performed a second surgery on his leg after the initial swelling subsided.
Diana said her son suffered a lacerated spleen as well, causing his blood count to drop overnight, though it began to improve in the days that followed.
JT is using a wheelchair and cannot walk for several weeks and is expected to be in some form of recovery for up to 10 weeks, his mother said. He will likely need physical therapy to regain strength in his injured arm and leg.
Diana credits JT’s helmet with saving his life. The exterior was cracked in two places and all the paint had been rubbed off where it made contact.
“If it weren’t for his helmet, this story could have ended very differently,” she said.
Diana said JT has always loved riding, recalling video of him at age 5, wearing a big helmet and grinning on a small motorcycle. Now, she hopes his near‑fatal crash will prompt other parents and teens to take safety more seriously.
“Elbow pads, knee pads, I don’t know,” Diana said. “I know kids would hate that, but when it comes down to it, when you know it saved your child’s life, you got to think about that part, because you never know what’ll happen.”
Diana is their only source of income and is off work to care for JT full‑time, she said, which has put added financial strain on the family. They have set up a GoFundMe.
“The road ahead is long, but we are hopeful that with the help of our community, JT can regain his strength and independence,” the GoFundMe said. “Any support you can offer would mean the world to us. Your kindness will help JT heal and ease the burden on my mom as she cares for him. Thank you for reading our story and for considering a donation to help JT on his journey to recovery.”