WCAC

The incident happened on January 30 around 1:00 p.m., when an 84-year-old man misjudged a step on Parmenter Road.

He fell hard, shattering an artificial knee and severing tendons.

Brandon, who wears cochlear implants and can read lips, immediately Facetimed his dad Jon, a Waltham police officer who works closely with local seniors.

The injured man tried to get up, but Brandon kept him motionless while help rushed to the scene.

“It was just an average, everyday thing for him,” his dad said. “Afterward, he just wanted to get back to his postal route.”

“This is why the city of Waltham is so special,” said city councilor Cathyann Harris. “Because of our people and the way we take care of each other.”

Brandon was reserved before the council, but he speaks volumes on Deaf Car Guy, a WCAC show that explores his passion for exotic cars.

He signs and includes subtitles on the show, which he writes, produces and edits.

One episode follows an annual motoring event Brandon created called the Stradale Rally. It runs from Lynnfield to North Adams along the Mohawk Trail and has raised $3,500 for service dogs for the deaf.

Brandon also confronts his struggles growing up.

Battling back tears, he reveals that he was bullied and told he would amount to nothing because he is deaf. “I suffered through my school years,” he signs.

A school counselor told him to apply only to deaf colleges. Undeterred, he got accepted to Mass College of Art and Design and graduated in 2015 with a degree in industrial design.

He concluded the episode with advice for other deaf people: “Whoever tells you that you can’t do anything, don’t listen to them and prove them wrong.”

Photos, clockwise from top: Brandon before the council, with mom Doreen and dad Jon; with his girlfriend Erica and his 2012 Chevrolet Camaro SS 45th Anniversary; with a fundraising check from his first Stradale Rally.

Deaf Car Guy episodes
www.wcac.org/public/public-shows/deaf-car-guy