Instagram Johnny Bananas and his mother Laura
Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio took to social media to share that his mother had been hospitalized after a hit-and-run and to spread the word in the hopes of finding a suspect. On December 23, the Challenge legend shared a tweet from Fox8 News’ Ed Gallek about a different car accident in Cleveland and asked Gallek if he could look into his mother’s case.
He wrote, “my Mom was involved in a hit and run in Cleveland, is in serious but stable condition on her way into surgery now, and will be spending Xmas in a hospital bed instead of with family. Please help me get her story out so we can bring this criminal to justice.”
He later thanked his followers for their support and kind words after many shared his tweet. Bananas also wrote, “Apparently there are hundreds of Hit and Run accidents every year that never get investigated, and I would hate for my mom to become part of that statistic. Every eyeball we can get on her case the better.”
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Bananas Posted a Heartfelt Message About His Mother on Christmas Day & Provided an Update About Her Recovery
Bananas provided more information about what happened in an Instagram post on December 24 when he wrote that his mother Laura was involved in a hit-and-run collision in Cleveland, Ohio. He said, “The injuries she sustained are serious but thankfully not life threatening, and she is expected to make a full recovery.” He said she underwent surgery at the Cleveland MetroHealth Trauma center on the evening of December 23 and was then moved to another facility for rehab.
She faces a “long road to recovery,” Bananas wrote, thanking the staff at the hospital, and concluded: “Please hold your loved ones tight tonight, because if I’ve learned anything this year, it’s to not focus on what’s under your tree, but who’s around it.”
His Challenge costars also chimed in, with fellow Real World: Key West alum and Challenge OG Paula Meronek posting about the incident on Twitter. Paula wrote, “Everyone please retweet so we can find this coward and get my friend @johnnybananas and amazingly strong mother some justice. Also please send healing prayers and thoughts to this tough lil lady. Stay strong Mama Bananas.”
On his Instagram post about the situation, his costar and former rival Wes Bergmann said, “I’m very sorry. My thoughts are with your family.” Josh Martinez wrote, “Have you and your mom in my prayers brotha.” Leroy Garrett replied, “Said a prayer for mama.” Big Brother alum Chris “Swaggy C” Williams wrote, “Glad she’s expected to make a full recovery bro!!! Nobody should have to spend Xmas in the hospital! Stay up fam, seriously. Def in my prayers!!”
Bananas Is Taking a Break From ‘The Challenge’ & Did Not Participate in the 36th Season, ‘Double Agents’
Bananas is not appearing on the current season of The Challenge as he is taking time off after his victory on Total Madness. The Real World: Key West alum appeared on a total of 20 seasons, including the last 12 seasons in a row, and has a staggering seven wins. Although some fans believed Johnny Bananas might retire after his last win, he has not made an official retirement announcement and said he’s “just getting warmed up” on the Us Weekly podcast.
The 38-year-old said he thought about retiring after Total Madness: “I did out of the gate, just as trying as this one was emotionally, physically and mentally. I think I did have that in my mind that I’d seen my last one.” As time went on though and he reflected on the season, he said he wasn’t ready to retire:
If anything, I’ve just proven to myself and everyone else out there that I still have exactly what it takes to compete at an incredibly high level. I still have a lot to offer to the show to the franchise, to the viewers and to myself. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, just getting warmed up.
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