ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — As students return to school across Northeast Florida, one St. Johns County mom is sharing a deeply personal warning—after her 13-year-old daughter was badly hurt while riding her bike.
It happened on January 8, 2025, around 6:45 am.
Brook-Lynn Paquette, now a 7th-grade student at Fruit Cove Middle School, was biking to school in the dark, wearing all black, and wasn’t using lights or a helmet.
“I saw the guy, but I thought I could make it,” Brook-Lynn said. “But I didn’t.”
Her mom, Amanda Ramirez, says Brook-Lynn crossed outside of the designated crosswalk area, and there were no crossing guards nearby. She says the driver did stop and was visibly concerned.
“She ended up with a back right skull fracture, a frontal lobe skull fracture, and a bruised C vertebrae,” Ramirez told Action News Jax. “She was in the hospital for 15 days and another 10 in inpatient rehab.”
Brook-Lynn spent months recovering. She’s regained her ability to walk, but the emotional toll is still very real.
Ramirez says the crash taught her an important lesson: safety starts at home.
“I was that parent. I gave my daughter the benefit of the doubt. And we both learned a lesson,” she said. “Parents—make sure your children are wearing helmets and using crosswalks.”
Brook-Lynn now says she won’t bike to school this year—and hopes her story keeps other kids from getting hurt.
Ramirez is also asking drivers to be more mindful of kids walking or biking near school zones.
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