NEED TO KNOW
Alexander Johnson was trying to jump-start a stalled vehicle on Dec. 23, 2025, when the vehicle was rear-ended
The teen broke his right leg in two places and one of his arteries was also impacted, his father says
Alexander, who does not have feeling from his right knee down his right leg and remains hospitalized in the ICU, underwent his fifth surgery on New Year’s Eve
A 16-year-old boy was on his way to pick up eggs for his grandmother when he stopped at an intersection to help a stranded driver in Michigan. However, as he was trying to jump-start the car, the vehicle was rear-ended and the teen ended up in the ICU.
Alexander Johnson had stopped at the intersection of Van Born Road and John Daly Street around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 23, after coming across the stalled car, his father, William Johnson, tells PEOPLE, sharing that his son says he “tried everything he could to get that car off the side of the road.”
However, another driver ultimately ended up rear-ending the stalled car, pinning Alexander between the two vehicles and ultimately breaking the teen’s right leg in two places and impacting one of his arteries, according to his dad.
“His bone was literally crushed,” his father says. “We had to do a bypass on a main artery.”
Alexander, who does not have feeling from his right knee down his right leg and remains hospitalized in the ICU, underwent his fifth surgery on New Year’s Eve, which his family hopes will be the last for now.
His dad tells PEOPLE they’ve still got a “real long road ahead of us.”
The driver of the vehicle that struck Alexander was issued a citation that accuses him of failing to stop and driving without proof of insurance, according to a traffic crash report obtained by PEOPLE.
According to the report, the driver was unable to see the stalled car due to the lighting.
When contacted by PEOPLE on Thursday, Jan. 1, the Dearborn Heights Police Department said it could not comment while the driver could not be reached.
William, who tells PEOPLE he has been unsatisfied with how the investigation was handled, alleges that police told him alcohol is not suspected to have been a factor in the crash, which has been referred to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
The prosecutor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
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William’s sister, Georgeana Johnson, has launched a GoFundMe to support the expense of Alexander’s recovery, which has raised over $20,000 as of Thursday, Jan 1.
“He is in a ton of pain but in very good spirits,” she wrote in an update. “He’s a fighter and we know he will overcome this. Please keep the prayers coming.”
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