Freshman Struck On Nearby Road

Tantardini was excited for his first day at RHS, having attended freshman orientation the day he was struck. He is glad to be back in school and is catching up on the work he missed while hospitalized. --Mara Monroe
Tantardini was excited for his first day at RHS, having attended freshman orientation the day he was struck. He is glad to be back in school and is catching up on the work he missed while hospitalized. –Mara Monroe

Early in the afternoon on Aug. 22, freshman John Tantardini was struck by a car on Veirs Mill Road while crossing the street and taken to Children’s Hospital with a fractured skull.

While returning home from the Twinbrook Plaza, Tantardini and freshman Sean Porter were crossing the street when the accident happened.

“I guess he did not see the cara�� so I yelled “stop!a�� but he did not hear me,” Porter said. “The next thing I knew, John has gotten hit by a car; then I ran to him.” Several witnesses stopped and got out of their cars after noticing that Tantardini was bleeding.

Although Tantardini was not at a crosswalk when he was hit, Tantardini was technically not jaywalking. According to Montgomery County police, a pedestrian is allowed to cross a busy street if there are not traffic lights on either side of the road.

Tantardini’s sister and RHS alumni Adrienne Tantardini said, “My whole system went into shock.” Shortly after receiving the news, she and her friends got into the car and drove to the hospital where John had been transported.

Adrienne heard about the incident while at home with friends junior Megan Anderson and senior Caitlyn Ramsey. Police knocked on her door and informed her of the accident and location of the hospital. Both parents were working while older sister Carol Tantardini was in Delaware.

John said that he did not feel any pain, because he did not remember the accident at all when he woke up. “I thought it was a dream,” Tantardini said.

According to NBC News, both Porter and the woman whose car struck Tantardini stayed at the scene of the accident. No charges have been filed yet.

Tantardini went in for surgery around 7 p.m. the same day and is back in school now. The news of his quick recovery was a relief for his friends and family.

“He is full of energy and has no problem speaking his mind,” Adrienne said. “He may get under my skin but I love him and couldn’t imagine life without him.”

The RHS community expressed their concern for John on social media websites such as Twitter and Instagram, starting a hashtag “Pray for John,” rallying together to encourge the incoming student. Tantardini tweeted on Sunday, Aug. 25 thanking the community for its “love and support” following the accident.

“There were guardian angels watching over me,” Tantardini said.