Driver slams into teenage boy riding scooter in Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ A driver struck a 14-year-old boy who was riding a scooter on Friday afternoon in Fort Lauderdale, police said.

The crash was at about 4:30 p.m., at the intersection of Northwest 13 Street and Eighth Avenue, near Thurgood Marshall Elementary School.

Fire Rescue personnel took the teenage boy, who suffered life-threatening injuries, to Broward Health Medical Center, according to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. A scooter was abandoned on the street.

Rupert Hamilton, who lives near the area told Local 10 News, ā€œYou just see kids rolling down on bikes, theyā€™re riding all kinds of skates and all of that kind of stuff and you say to yourself, you know somebody is going to get hurt.ā€

Fort Lauderdale police were at the scene investigating and shutting the street down for several hours.

Although the area is designated a school zone, residents complain about frequent speeding and distracted drivers.

and they tell usā€”these speed bumps on nearby 8th avenue ā€”were installed around two years ago to try and slow traffic.

ā€œThe cars they come through here at excess speed,ā€ said Hamilton.

As the child remains in the hospital, neighbors are asking for more parks where kids can play and they want to see drivers to slow down.

ā€œThey have no backyards to play in--they have no parks to play in, so the easiest chance they get, theyā€™re on the street, playing on the street,ā€ Hamilton said.

The driver of the sports utility vehicle that struck the boy waited for police officers to arrive and was cooperative.

Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Location

Watch the 6 p.m. report

Watch the 5 p.m. report


About the Authors
Cody Weddle headshot

Cody Weddle joined Local 10 News as a full-time reporter in South Florida in August of 2022. Before that, Cody worked regularly with Local 10 since January of 2017 as a foreign correspondent in Venezuela and Colombia.

Joseph Ojo headshot

Joseph Ojo joined Local 10 in April 2021. Born and raised in New York City, he previously worked in Buffalo, North Dakota, Fort Myers and Baltimore.

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