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Deputies buy bike for Rochester Hills teen hurt in crash
After a Rochester Hills boy heals from a bike crash, he can hit the road on a new bicycle, thanks to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. They surprised the teen with the bike after he was hit by a driver while riding to school.
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (FOX 2) - Peyton Scheda was riding his bike to Reuther Middle School in Rochester Hills when he was hit while crossing John R and Auburn.
"This guy came out of nowhere. I tried swerving out of the way and got hit," Peyton said. "I kind of remember going into the ambulance, but it was all kind of crazy."
The crash wrapped the bike around the eighth grader's leg, an injury that required 100 stitches to repair, and left Peyton, an avid biker, without a bicycle.
"Did some pretty serious biking, like 30 or 40 miles sometimes," he said.
After the crash, Oakland County Sheriff's deputies decided to help.
"This is a moment where you can make a difference in a young kid’s life that you can make a difference. Let him know no one forgot about him, and they know what he’s been through," Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.
Days after Peyton was hit, his older sister Gwen Scheda said a deputy at Rochester High School approached her with an idea.
"He explained everything that is happening and said, ‘I’m going to buy your brother a bike,’ and I almost started crying. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, are you serious? There is no way!' And he’s like, 'Yeah we are going to buy him a bike.'"
Using money from a benevolent fund made entirely of contributions from Oakland County Sheriff's deputies, they bought Peyton a new bike and surprised him with it on Tuesday.
"He was smiling so big like, I was like he’s really that happy right now. He hasn’t smiled like that since the accident," Gwen said.
It was a moment that brightened his day.
"They were saying you are a really tough kid and we appreciate everything," Peyton said. "It was really cool."
Bouchard said it's part of what deputies with his department do.
"It helps bring smiles and excitement to that young man, but it also helps us go, ‘We like this -- this is why we do what we do,’" he said.
The surprise couldn't have come at a better time, motivating him to keep going in his recovery.
"The goal is to be walking and to be able to go to the Lions Thanksgiving game," Peyton said.