MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A driver was arrested Tuesday morning after striking an 11-year-old in Miami Gardens, sending the child to the hospital with serious head injuries, police said.
According to Miami Gardens police, the crash was reported at 7:53 a.m. in the 1200 block of Northwest 188th Street.
Police said the driver of a black Ford Fusion was heading south on Northwest 12th Avenue at a high rate of speed when they tried to bypass slow-moving traffic by driving onto the swale.
The driver, identified by police as 23-year-old Darius Forbes, then crashed the car into a tree and then struck the child, police said.
The victim has been identified as Johnny Baptiste Jr.
“I’m looking at him all banged up and he’s supposed to be home with me,” said Shakera Rolle, the boy’s mother. “When I first heard he was hit by a car, I instantly thought the worst.”
Rose Emine, whose fence was crashed in by the driver, told Local 10 News that the boy was unresponsive after being struck by the car.
“I said, ‘Ahh’ because I thought the boy has died,” Emine said.
“They was just throwing water on his head. Big gash on his head,” another witness, Orlando Lawrence, said.
Authorities said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel airlifted the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center with serious but stable head injuries.
“We need to pray for that child and family,” Emine said.
Police confirmed that Forbes was arrested on reckless driving charges.
“I just wish he was a little more careful or paid more attention to the road where he was riding,” said Rolle.
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