FRUIT COVE, Fla. — A St. Johns County community is coming together to support a 12-year-old boy who remains in critical condition after an e-bike crash Monday night.

The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. along Race Track Road in Fruit Cove, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

The boy was airlifted to Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, where he is being treated for a serious head injury, according to a GoFundMe page. Authorities said he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

Neighbors say the sidewalk where the crash occurred is a popular route for local middle schoolers. Many ride e-bikes and scooters after school..

“We want the kids to be safe and enjoy their life, and they have all this opportunity, but with some safety in mind,” Mariah Sheridan, a parent who lives nearby, said. 

Sheridan described how the community quickly came together after the accident, with residents posting on Facebook to help identify the injured child.

“Everyone was a little choked up, because we take what happens in the community very seriously, and of course, we all have children in the school here,” she said.

Andrea Delgado, a middle school student, said riding e-bikes and scooters is a daily routine for many kids in the area.

“We usually are here from after school to like three or four,” Delgado said. “A lot of us have electric scooters or e-bikes. A lot of these kids, they do wheelies on it and stuff.”

The crash has put a renewed focus on safety, particularly helmet use.

“Wearing a helmet has got to be mandatory for these kids,” Sheridan said. “We love them, we care about them. We don’t want to see them get hurt.”

Creeks Football League says a prayer circle for the injured boy is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the turf fields at Plantation Park. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office will attend, offering a safety briefing on helmet laws and leading a group ride through the park. Free helmets will be distributed to children at the event.