A hit-and-run incident in North Miami Beach involving a teenage cyclist has led to the arrest of a female driver. The 15-year-old boy was riding his bike when he was struck by a vehicle around 5 p.m. at the intersection of Northeast 167th Street and Sixth Avenue, WSVN reports. The driver initially left the scene but was subsequently detained by police.
The teen's mother, Juliet Lopez, explained to WSVN, through a translator, that her son sustained bruises from the collision. "He got bruises after he was hit by the car," she said. Witness Roxana Smilovich also described the scene to the same outlet, recalling how the driver cut around her car in heavy traffic to enter a plaza before hitting the boy. "We were at a red light going south on Sixth Avenue. A car was at the entrance of a plaza, and the car behind me apparently needed to get into the plaza, so instead of waiting for the green light, she decided to go around me illegally," Smilovich recounted.
The suspect's identity has not been released by authorities, but she was apprehended with assistance from the Miami-Dade Police Department. According to Local 10, the woman was taken into custody and police say she faces undisclosed charges related to the incident. The victim was initially evaluated at the scene and appeared alert, speaking with officers, but was later taken to a hospital by his family as his pain worsened.
Lopez expressed her fear and anger to WSVN, emphasizing the need for motorists to obey traffic laws. "I feel scared, because he's always on his bike, and he's always careful, but there are people who don't respect the laws," she noted. Meanwhile, Smilovich, reflecting on a driver's impatience, told WSVN, "The reality is, there are a lot of people in this city, there is going to be traffic, and you just have to be more patient."
