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Teen in medically-induced coma after colliding with truck while on a moped

WALTHAM, Mass. — A Waltham teen is fighting for his life after being involved in a crash last weekend.

Matheus De Oliveira, 18, was heading home on his father's moped after running an errand Saturday around noon, when the moped and a truck collided. Matheus was critically injured and rushed to Lahey Hospital in Burlington, where he remains in a medically-induced coma.

"Our life turned upside down," Matheus's father, Alberto De Oliveira told Boston 25 News Tuesday. "Matheus is 18 years old. He's my right hand."

Alberto said his son is polite and responsible - a good student who works two jobs while also serving in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. A native of Brazil, Matheus got his Green Card a few months ago and is preparing to join the Army once he graduates from Waltham High School in 2021.

He had a meeting with a recruiter set up for this week.

"He was going to join the military, and he will," Alberto said, confident in his son's recovery. "That's his dream."

Matheus underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on his swelling brain. He is currently heavily medicated and on a ventilator.

"It's a little hard, because as a parent, you see a lot of hopes that the professionals think that, that's just the reaction of the body," Alberto said of the guarded optimism of doctors. "But I ask him to hold my finger and he holds [it] and he shakes [it]."

Meanwhile, friends and members of the community raised nearly $20,000 to cover Matheus's medical bills and ongoing rehabilitation. The family's employer, who is also a local firefighter, started the GoFundMe account.

"I'm very grateful for this community," Alberto said. "This is the best place to live because the sense of the community. It's the next level."

Alberto also expressed gratitude for the first responders who found his son unable to breathe on his own and took such good care of him so quickly.

Police expected to finish their investigation into the crash Tuesday night.

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