Boston police union replaces West Roxbury boy's stolen bike
BOSTON - A smiling nine-year-old had quite the audience Monday night as he pedaled his new bike.
"He was very sad," said the boy's mother, Meaghan Lydon. "It took him at least a week to get over it."
Meaghan Lydon is talking about November 10th, when her security camera caught a man stealing her son's bike out of their West Roxbury backyard.
"A man come to my house, and he stole my bike," said nine-year-old John Lydon.
"We were actually home so it was extra even more kind of like scary," his mother said.
Young John has autism, so it took some explaining for him to understand why someone would swipe his wheels given to him by Santa last Christmas.
The thing is, it's not just a bike for John. It's his emotional outlet when he needs to blow off steam and the month he spent without it was really tough on the whole family. "Because I missed it," John said.
Enter a former state representative who contacted the police union, which quickly rounded up the $500 to buy the exact same kind of bike, making the surprise special delivery to John's doorstep Monday night.
"What better way to celebrate the holidays than make a family from the city of Boston feel like they do tonight," said Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Patrolmen's Association.
"He gets on the bike, and he just goes, and he loves it, it's awesome. It's huge, it's huge it means the world to us," said Patrick Lydon, John's father.
You can probably tell from the Lydon's house that they're into the holiday spirit. But the thoughtfulness behind this unexpected gesture will be hard to top. "The community reached out to me and it was amazing," said Meaghan Lydon.
As for the replacement wheels, John says they're a winner. "This bike is really fast," he said.
And with that in mind, he's pledging to find a safer place to park it.
