Mass. Firefighters Replace Teen`s Mangled Mountain Bike
June 26--LAWRENCE -- Every day, Adriana Bonilla makes three trips on her mountain bike, riding from south to north Lawrence, to her dog walking job.
But Tuesday morning, her daily trek took an accidental and scary turn when she collided with a car on Marston Street, injuring herself and mangling her pink mountain bike.
Four Lawrence firefighters from the Engine 6 (Prospect Hill) firehouse were working nearby and quickly rendered first aid to the 18-year-old.
Then, Thursday afternoon, those same Engine 6 firefighters got together and gave Bonilla her much-needed wheels back.
The tender-hearted jakes dropped by the Inman Street apartment complex where Bonilla lives with her mother Nancy and gave Adriana a brand new bike they paid for out of their own pockets.
"Thank you! I didn't expect this," said Bonilla, a recent Lawrence High School graduate, who still had abrasions from her crash left on her arms and face.
Her new ride is a 24-inch, sparkling blue mountain bike with a matching blue and white helmet.
Firefighter William Pagan Jr. was the driving force behind replacing her bike, fellow firefighters said.
Pagan said he and the rest of the Engine 6 crew that day, Lt. Graeme Millar and Firefighters Patrick Driscoll and Ron Lavallee, found Adriana laying in the street after the crash.
She was hurt but she wasn't complaining. Instead, Pagan said, she was concerned whether the driver involved was OK and if someone could call her mother.
And she was "really concerned" about her bike and how she going to get to work this summer. In addition to her dog walking job, Adriana was supposed to be at a job orientation on the south side of the city later Tuesday.
"I told her we'd get her a bike," said Pagan, a 17-year Lawrence veteran and father of a 20-year-old son.
Pagan wasn't kidding.
Back at the firehouse, he researched ladies mountain bikes on the Internet and asked his father, William Pagan Sr., to go to Wal-mart in Salem, N.H. and buy the Roadmaster style mountain bike for $100.
Without hesitating, the guys at E6 -- Pagan, Millar, Driscoll and Lavallee -- all opened their wallets and threw down cash.
"She's a hard working, 18-year-old kid," said Driscoll, who estimated Adriana easily bikes 15 miles daily.
Lavallee echoed similar sentiments, noting Adriana was banged up in the accident "but she showed concern for everyone but herself."
The Engine 6 firefighters had planned to quietly give the teen her new bike and helmet and wish her well.
But, Fire Chief Brian Moriarty wanted the crew recognized for their compassion and generosity. He said he routinely hears tales of such benevolence by Lawrence firefighters but crews are never looking for any credit.
"I think it's just awesome. So many times, the fire department is involved in tragedy and the public does not get to see this side of firefighters," he said.
"They didn't want this in the paper," Moriarty stressed. "But I want people to know how good they are."
Adriana said she plans to attend Northern Essex Community College in the fall and hopes to major in nursing. She'd really like to be a maternity nurse, she said.
She immediately put her new bike to good use Thursday.
About an hour after they gave Adriana the new bike and helmet, Pagan saw her riding over the Falls Bridge -- one of her daily treks from south to north Lawrence.
Copyright 2015 - The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
