The father of a decorated Army veteran who died on his 26th birthday has spoken of his “nightmare” after learning eight vehicles had run him over without stopping.
John “Jack” Dyer lost control of his motorcycle on U.S. Highway 27 west of Orlando around 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 and ended up in the southbound center lane.
When the former paratrooper was found, he had been repeatedly struck by passing motorists who apparently did not know they had just struck a person, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said.
“The first car probably killed him. 'I don't think he suffered, but how did all those cars keep running him over?' said father John Dyer Snr, who also lost a daughter during the Covid pandemic.
“He’s not a deer on the road, he’s a human being.”
John “Jack” Dyer was a decorated member of the 82nd Airborne Division prior to his honorable discharge in March 2023
Devastated father John Dyer Snr described the experience as a “nightmare”, “It's terrible, it's just devastating,” he said, “God chose Jack's time.” He didn't ask me, that's for sure.
“Jack said, 'My grandfather was an immigrant and I am an immigrant and all immigrants should serve their country,'” John Snr said.
Hours earlier, John Snr and his wife Elizabeth had texted their son happy birthday, but their messages and a voicemail from the mother went unanswered.
Two days later, Suffolk County Police officers knocked on the door of her New York home.
“They asked about John Dyer’s family,” John Snr told Fox News.
“I assumed he got a ticket or something, and then they told me he died in a motorcycle accident.”
“It’s devastating, I didn’t know how to tell my wife.”
John Jr. was adopted from Russia as a five-year-old and joined his new family in New York, where his father worked as an NYFD firefighter before joining a hospital as a newly registered nurse.
John Jr. was just five years old when he was adopted by the family and moved to New York from his native Russia
They took him to Disney World after he told them that children in Russia were assured that there was no such place.
“In Russia they told him it was just a made-up thing. “When he came and we took him there he was thrilled,” said John Snr.
“He was just so excited. We couldn't hold him, he ran after Mickey Mouse.'
John Jr. was so impressed by the experience that he moved to Orlando when he was 19 and got a job as a security guard for Disney World.
But his ambitions didn't end with Mickey Mouse and in 2019 he signed up as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division after being afraid of heights as a boy.
“I don’t know how he does it, he just conquered his fears,” his father said.
“He was afraid of the water and then became an avid surfer out in Montauk, Long Island.” He was full of life.
“Jack said, 'My grandfather was an immigrant and I am an immigrant and all immigrants should serve their country,'” John Snr said.
“So he said, 'I'm going in'.”
The young paratrooper was honorably discharged in March and was still living in the state when the tragedy occurred.
According to FHP, all eight drivers stopped when asked and the case remains the subject of an ongoing vehicular homicide investigation.
“He was afraid of the water and then became an avid surfer out in Montauk, Long Island,” his father said, “He was full of life.”
“He was proud to be an American and to serve his country,” his parents said on his tribute page
“People tell me he was the most polite, well-mannered young man they ever met,” his father said
The location on US Highway 27 west of Orlando at the intersection with Frank Jarrell Road
John's family were preparing for Christmas without his sister Katy following her death two years ago when they received the latest devastating news.
“It's a nightmare, it's terrible, it's just devastating,” said John Snr.
“People tell me he was the most polite and well-mannered young man they had ever met and he was good. “He was honest and caring and we are very proud of him.
“God does not tell us when we will have a full life.” You can have a full life when you are a month old or a full life when you are 99.
“God chose Jack's time. “He didn't ask me, that's for sure.”