After an Arcadia teen riding his bicycle was hit by a car, a few firefighters decided to step in to replace the boy's beloved bike after it was destroyed in the crash.
Sixteen-year-old Alex Zhao was riding his bike in Arcadia when he saw a car turning into the street.
"I was assuming he would stop for me," he recalled. "I guess he didn't see me....I don't remember much about the actual impact, because it just happened so fast."
The paramedics who responded to the accident say it's a good thing Alex was thrown clear of the bike.
"His bicycle was actually underneath a vehicle, so on his part, he was extremely lucky," Capt. Steven Sinnot said.
Seeing his destroyed bike made Alex emotional.
"We offered to take it back to the fire station so he could pick it up later that day," Sinnot said.
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That wasn't much comfort for Alex.
"There were a lot of memories attached to the bike," Alex said. "I went to a lot of places with my friend with that bike and that was my only mode of transportation."
The firefighters saw how disappointed Alex was, so they came up with a plan. They stopped by a bike shop and asked employees if it was possible for bike to be fixed. Employees said it was impossible.
So they decided to buy him a new one.
"We all kinda looked at it, and looked at each other and said we think it's the right thing to do," said Steven Nuckolls of the fire department.
Helen's Cycles, a bike shop in Arcadia, helped donate the perfect bike in fire engine red, including a helmet to keep Alex safe.
"He wasn't wearing a helmet that day, so we made sure he got a helmet as well," Nuckolls said.
Alex thought he was going to the Arcadia Fire Department station to pick up what remained of his mangled bike, but instead was presented with a brand new one.
He was instantly moved to tears.
"It made me feel really grateful about living in Arcadia, where I know we have (the firefighters). They will have our backs when things go down," Alex said.
Alex had been carrying a painting he created for an art contest. Without police and firefighters' help making the delivery, he would have missed the deadline to enter.
"We just like to go the extra mile and help out," Nuckolls said.
