An evening ride along a popular Mims trail turned deadly last Wednesday when a dirt bike carrying two 11-year-old boys collided with a car at a busy crossing, killing one child and critically injuring the other. The crash happened near the intersection of Parker Street and Old Dixie Highway, just off U.S. 1, and drew a large emergency response as crews rushed to stabilize the boys before flying them to hospitals in the Orlando area.
Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol were called to the scene around 5:45 p.m. and told FOX 35 Orlando the boys had ridden a motorized dirt bike off the East Coast Regional Trail and into the path of an oncoming vehicle. According to the FHP report cited by the station, the rider was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the passenger was rushed to a trauma center in critical condition. The driver of the car, a 63-year-old man from Titusville, was not injured and remained at the scene to cooperate with investigators.
Pastor Royce "Scooter" Morrison, a chaplain with Parrish Medical Center, told FOX 35 Orlando he watched as first responders surrounded the injured children and worked frantically to keep them alive, calling it "the most unified, life-saving effort that I have ever seen in my life." Witnesses told the station that motorized bikes are a regular sight on the pedestrian trail and that close calls at the Parker Street crossing happen often. Morrison said he prayed with the families before the boys were taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando.
Trail safety and recent crashes
The East Coast Regional Trail is designed as a multi-use corridor for non-motorized recreation such as bicycling, walking and horseback riding, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's trail guide. Local users and officials say mixing motorized and non-motorized traffic can turn trail crossings into danger zones, and troopers have noted other fatal dirt-bike wrecks around Florida this year. In March, a 40-year-old rider was killed when his dirt bike crashed into an SUV in Alachua County, as reported by News4JAX. Residents say the deadly collision in Mims has sharpened calls for clearer protections and enforcement at trail crossings.
Troopers say the crash remains under active investigation and have asked anyone with information or video to contact the Florida Highway Patrol. The facts above come from the agency's report and FOX 35 Orlando's coverage.
