SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. – A witness recounted to Local 10 News what happened that led to an 11-year-old boy being struck by a car. They said he was attempting to cross the street with his sister. While two cars did stop at the red light, a third did not and hit the child. He is now in serious condition at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.
On Thursday, Sunny Isles Beach Police Chief Dwight Snyder was joined at a news conference by Vice Mayor Larisa Svenchin.
“This was a tremendous tragedy and we all are heartbroken about this,” Svenchin said.
The child was struck by a car wile crossing Sunny Isles Boulevard near A1A on Wednesday night.
Svechin said as a mother of four small children that she was heartbroken for the boys’ mother. “I can’t imagine what that mother is going through,” she said.
Investigators said the victim was attempting to cross the street when a driver ran a red light. The young boy was airlifted to Joe Dimaggio Children’s Hospital with severe injuries to his head.
Svechin said the boy was in critical condition.
Detectives questioned the driver, who did stop, as to while she failed to stop for the red light. Front end damage was noticeable on the car.
Other driver have said that the light’s location can cause confusion.
Snyder said he wants to inform the community that the city is now partnering with several groups who will work to implement a pedestrian and bicycle safety campaign to stop incidents like this from happening in the future
“For us, it is very important that when cars come into our city that they understand that they must slow down. They need to know that we are going to have zero tolerance about this,” Svechin said.
Miami-Dade Police has taken over the investigation. It is not yet known what charges the driver will be facing.