Overview:
Rodney Jean Thomas, a 12-year-old boy who was critically injured by a driver while crossing a road Monday night in Ocoee, Florida, died after days on life support at Orlando’s Arnold Palmer Hospital. His death has left his mother and four brothers grieving, while relatives and friends are asking the community for help with funeral costs, lost income and emotional support.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Rodney Jean Thomas, a 12-year-old boy who was critically injured by a driver while crossing a road Monday night in Central Florida, died after days on life support at Orlando’s Arnold Palmer Hospital.
Madianne Forestal—a single mother of five boys, aged 2 to 15—now faces the devastating reality: planning her son’s funeral while finding the strength to care for the other children, who are grieving their brother.
The tragedy unfolded on Nov. 11, two days after the boy was struck by a vehicle while walking with his 9-year-old brother around 7:45 p.m. near the intersection of Old Winter Garden Road and Blackwood Avenue in Ocoee. His younger brother witnessed the collision but was not injured.
Ocoee, where the devastating crash occurred, is a small incorporated town in the greater Orlando area—home to a burgeoning Haitian community.
Now, the family is struggling with the loss. Relatives, neighbors and friends are asking the community to surround Forestal and her sons with practical and emotional support.
“She’s a brokenhearted mother, and she’s reeling,” said Christy Buehler Reynolds, a close friend and family spokesperson. She described the boy as her nephew because Forestal, Reynolds’ mother’s caregiver for years, has become like a sister to her.
“I mean, the loss is absolutely unfathomable to all of us,” Reynolds told The Haitian Times in a phone interview Thursday.
“Rodney was a gentle, faithful child who loved music, singing at Mosaic Church,” Reynolds added.
“This is just such a loss, and it’s so shocking for everybody, but especially for the young brother who witnessed it. We’re doing everything we can just to be supportive and love on him,” Reynolds said.
In May 2024, Madianne Forestal poses with her first four boys and her half-brother Testen (left), who is now the Reynolds’ adopted son, wearing a red T-shirt. Photo courtesy of Christy Buehler Reynolds.
A family facing grief and financial strain
Beyond the emotional toll, the boy’s death has left his mother facing immediate financial hardship.
Reynolds said Forestal is a single mother who works seven days a week to provide for her five children. With funeral arrangements to make and time away from work likely necessary to care for her boys, the family is confronting expenses at a moment when grieving takes priority.
Reynolds and Frances Pennington Barra, another close friend and fellow church member, have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help ease the family’s burden.
“Now is the time for the community … if you’re able, pray, please pray. And if you’re able to support the GoFundMe, then please do,” Reynolds said.
The boy could survive the injury
Ocoee police said officers responded quickly and found the child lying in the roadway, severely injured. He was taken to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Orlando Health’s Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where he remained on life support until his death.
The driver remained at the scene, police said. The circumstances surrounding the collision remain under investigation.
Reynolds said the family lived in an apartment complex near the crash site and the two boys were attempting to cross the road, possibly to reach a nearby Wendy’s.
She raised concerns about the conditions at the scene, describing the area as dark and poorly lit.
“It’s dark out there; it’s not well lit. He was wearing dark clothing, and he was not seen,” Reynolds said.
Police have not publicly established the cause of the collision or assigned responsibility for the crash.
Rodney’s school, Thornebrooke Elementary, also acknowledged the tragedy and directed people wishing to help toward the family’s fundraiser.
A date for the funeral is not yet known, as the family and the surrounding community are in the early stages of planning.
