- November 15, 2024
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A 13-year-old boy was hospitalized the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 2, after an SUV struck him as he rode his bicycle on Belle Terre Parkway.
"The teen was taken to (Florida Hospital Flagler) in good spirits," Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Laura Williams said in an emailed statement. "We don’t have an update on his condition," she continued, noting that the Sheriff's Office, due to a technology problem, has not been able to access the incident report which contains the boy's name.
The incident was the fourth time so far this year that a child cycling or walking in Palm Coast has been struck by a car. The last incident killed 7-year-old Wadsworth student Kymora Christian as she waited at a school bus stop Oct. 7, and spurred the city and school district to search for ways to make local streets safer for kids.
The 13-year-old boy struck Nov. 2 was part of a group of children who were bicycling south from Buddy Taylor Middle School on the sidewalk on Belle Terre Parkway at about 1:37 p.m., Williams said. When the kids got to a crosswalk at Pritchard Drive, the boy was about 20 feet into the intersection when an SUV struck him, drawing him under the vehicle.
Flagler County Sheriff's Office Deputy Otis Gilyard investigated the crash. The SUV's driver, Palm Coast resident William Hickman, was cited for failure to yield the right-of-way, Williams said.
Gilyard noted that the boy had not been wearing a helmet. “Kids absolutely must start wearing their bicycle helmets," he said in the emailed statement. "It’s not an option. It’s the law for anyone under 16.”
