Drunk 19-Year-Old Runs Over and Kills 2-Year-Old Who Was Riding Tricycle

A 19-year-old Florida man faces charges of DUI manslaughter after running over a 2-year-old on a tricycle in a gated Tavares neighborhood, according to a recent arrest affidavit. Tavares police said they responded at around 7:18 p.m. to the Oak Bend neighborhood in relation to a child who had been struck by a vehicle. A neighbor who called 911 reported that a silver Toyota Tacoma was speeding down the street before it struck the child. The neighbor also told dispatchers that the child was receiving CPR from a neighbor and the driver of the truck was still at the scene and appeared to be intoxicated.

According to the arrest affidavit, officers observed the driver of the truck standing with crews from the Tavares Fire Department and Lake County EMS. The mother of the child who was struck by the truck told officers that she and her husband were standing in their driveway as their children were riding their bikes in the street in front of the house. The mother said that she heard and observed the truck speeding as it turned onto a road into their neighborhood.

According to the arrest affidavit, the woman and her husband “began yelling at the vehicle to slow down” when the truck continued toward them at the end of the street.

Police said that the couple’s 2-year-old was riding a toddler tricycle on the eastbound side of the road when the child was struck by the defendant’s truck. After hitting the child, the vehicle “Appeared to drag the child and the bicycle” a few feet before coming to a complete stop.

A witness told police that they thought they saw the front tires of the truck completely run over the child, according to the arrest affidavit. Officials say that the Oak Bend neighborhood is a closed, gated community and the street where the accident occurred is a “short, dead-end street where families felt safe for their children to be able to play under their supervision.”

According to the police, the defendant, who was sitting on the sidewalk, had a “strong odor of alcohol emitted from him.” The arrest affidavit notes that police knew that the odor was not coming from the defendant’s clothing because he was not wearing a shirt or any shoes, only a pair of swim trunks. Officers also noted that as the defendant spoke, the odor of alcohol became stronger. Further, the officers observed that the defendant had bloodshot, glassy eyes.

The defendant initially declined to participate in field sobriety tests despite being told that he would be arrested for DUI based on several indicators that the officers observed, according to one of the officers at the scene. The defendant ultimately consented to the field sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested for DUI. The arrest affidavit indicates that the driver blew a .062 and .057, which is below the legal limit for an adult, but not an individual under the age of 21. Police believe that since several hours passed from the time of the incident to when the breath sample was taken, the driver’s BAC was likely higher at the time the crash occurred.

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Source:

clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/09/03/man-arrested-on-dui-manslaughter-charge-after-running-over-2-year-old-who-was-riding-tricycle-tavares-police-say/