2 deaths, 4 incidents locally highlight importance of knowing rules about mini bikes

A number of recent incidents involving youths and mini bikes or dirt bikes, two of which were fatal, highlight the importance of education regarding the rules governing them and on safety, law enforcement officials said.

Crashes that killed one child each happened April 5 in Fort Pierce and Palm City while crashes involving injuries happened April 19 and 20 in Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce, according to law enforcement officials.

Fort Pierce Police Detective Nicholas Anton, who also is a traffic officer, said youths cannot ride mini bikes on sidewalks or public roadways.

“It puts the public at risk and puts the pedestrians at risk,” Anton said. “There's a lot of safety things that come into play.”

In Fort Pierce, Edgar Hernandez, 14, died April 7 after a mini bike crash two days earlier. Police determined the mini bike, with two occupants, traveled east on Soltman Avenue. The minibike driver apparently didn’t stop at a stop sign at Birch Street, and crashed with a 2023 Ford F-250 pickup.

Anton said in general, when a motorbike has an engine size greater than 50 cubic centimeters, it is considered a motorcycle.

“That's where you require a motorcycle endorsement, you require your driver's license, and those can be ridden on roadways and they can be registered,” Anton said.

Anton suggested parents research the rules governing such vehicles on www.myflorida.com.

“Anytime we have kids on these that are on the public road, it's going to be a problem,” Anton said. “But all the other cities are also seeing the same thing as us.”

On April 5 in Palm City, an 11-year-old boy was killed while riding a dirt bike at an address on Southwest Woodham Street, a more rural area.

The boy, whose name was not released, rode a Honda dirt bike in the backyard and “struck a rope tied horizontally in between two trees causing him to be projected from the dirt bike and onto the ground,” according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Unlicensed riders and youths can operate mini bikes on their own private property or on private property with the owner's permission, officials said.

Martin County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Collazo said parents shouldn’t mistakenly think a small mini bike is governed by the same rules as a bicycle. There is no mini bike a young child legally can operate on a public road, he said.

“Public roadways have other factors like traffic and crosswalks, and all kinds of other things that we have traffic safety laws in place for,” Collazo said. “For them to be riding them or parents buying them for the purpose of kind of getting around and transportation is a horrible idea.”

Collazo said the Sheriff’s Office hasn’t experienced an uptick or trend of youths riding such vehicles on roadways.

“Every once in a while, there's specific areas like Palm City Farms where you could see a dirt bike or a four-wheeler on the side of Citrus (Boulevard) cruising from one street to the next,” Collazo said.

Acting Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro said people riding dirt bikes where they are not supposed to has been an issue for years in Port St. Lucie.

There is no place in Port St. Lucie, excepting private property with permission from the owner, to ride mini bikes.

Del Toro’s agency at 9:32 p.m. on April 19 went to Southwest Savona and Southwest California boulevards to a crash involving a dirt bike and a vehicle. The hit-and-run crash involved a 12-year-old on a dirt bike and a Mercedes-Benz.

He said some people may not know or care about the rules.

“I think the parents need to be a little bit more vigilant and involved in what these kids are doing and make sure they educate these kids on what's right and wrong in terms of operating these types of motor vehicles, especially on the roadways,” Del Toro said. “Ultimately, the parents have to take responsibility for what their kids are doing, especially if they're under the age of 18.”

He said people should follow the law regarding the safe and legal operation of such vehicles and wear proper protective gear.

“These bikes are dangerous and they go pretty fast and so as we've seen in a couple incidents here they can have a lot of unfortunate and unintended consequences,” Del Toro said.

The April 20 mini bike incident happened in Fort Pierce as police went to Georgia Avenue and South 11th Street, according to Larry Croom, police spokesperson.

The 16-year-old mini bike driver was traveling south on South 11th street, as a Ford SUV traveled west on Georgia Avenue. He said it appears the mini bike driver failed to stop at a stop sign and hit the front passenger side of the SUV.

Anton said police typically try to educate juveniles of the consequences of violating the traffic rules, and have discretion.

First time offenders who are cordial and have no criminal history could get a warning, though those who have been warned before could get a citation for operating an unregistered motor vehicle on a public roadway.

“You need to know the rules of your city or your state about whether they can operate it on the roadway,” Anton said.

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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Deadly mini bike crashes highlight importance of knowing the rules