A Palm Bay teenager riding his scooter to school was hit by a truck driver in a marked crosswalk near Franklin Avenue and Clearmont Street, and the driver kept going, according to the boy's mother. D’Shavion Taylor suffered a fractured arm, along with scrapes to his back and injuries to his face, and his mother, Felicia Peek, says the driver responsible could still be out on the road.
Peek told FOX 35 Orlando that the driver was still on the road after hitting her child and leaving the scene, and she is urging the driver to turn themselves in. The Palm Bay Police Department is investigating the reported hit-and-run involving the teenage boy and the truck driver, and has urged anyone with information to come forward. Taylor told the outlet that the driver stopped at the intersection before speeding up and hitting him as he began crossing — a sequence Peek separately described as the driver sped up and slammed into her son when he began crossing the intersection.
Crosswalk Rights and a Truck That Didn't Stop
Under Florida Statute § 316.130(7), drivers are required to stop or yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and micromobility users crossing within a marked crosswalk, according to DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis, P.A. Police believe the suspect may be a white male driving a white pickup truck, though no further identifying details have been released. The Palm Bay Police Department's traffic unit has been checking surveillance cameras near Franklin Avenue and Clearmont Street for leads, but the department has said multiple cameras in the general area have been checked without results so far.
That leaves investigators leaning heavily on the public. The Palm Bay Police Department operates an anonymous crime tip hotline at (321) 952-3450 and also partners with Central Florida Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS, according to the City of Palm Bay. Peek says she simply wants the driver off the road, and reiterated her call for the driver to turn themselves in.
What Fleeing the Scene Could Mean Legally
Leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury is classified as a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 316.027, punishable by up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine, per the Florida Senate. Beyond prison time, Florida's Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act mandates a driver's license revocation of at least three years for anyone convicted of leaving the scene of an injury crash, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. That same agency's public safety analysis found that more than 80% of Florida hit-and-run fatalities occur during low-light conditions, with fear of arrest and impaired driving identified as common motivators for fleeing.
A Familiar and Troubling Pattern in Brevard County
This is not an isolated case for the region. Brevard County recorded 1,633 hit-and-run crashes in 2025 alone, resulting in 366 injuries and six fatalities, with hit-and-runs accounting for more than 20% of all traffic collisions countywide, according to Space Coast Daily. Statewide, Florida recorded 92,381 hit-and-run crashes in 2025, resulting in 180 fatalities and more than 150,000 injury-causing collisions, per Swope, Rodante P.A. Smart Growth America's 2026 “Dangerous by Design” report ranked the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville metro area as the 11th most dangerous metro area in the country for pedestrians, a ranking Hoodline previously reported on after a crosswalk collision involving a Rockledge crossing guard.
Young scooter and bike riders have been hit particularly hard locally. In June, Brevard County law enforcement investigated a separate hit-and-run that killed a 15-year-old boy riding his scooter on Father's Day, a case Hoodline covered as the boy's family sought answers. Just this week, Hoodline also reported that a Mims man was arrested ten months after a fatal hit-and-run on a motorcyclist along U.S. 1, underscoring how often investigators in Brevard County depend on public tips to eventually identify suspect vehicles. Under Florida Statute § 316.2065(3)(d), riders under 16 operating a bicycle or micromobility device on public roads are also required to wear a properly fitted safety helmet.
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