15-year-old boy cited by Miami police in dirt bike crash that seriously injured 81-year-old man and his wife
A 15-year-old boy has been cited for careless driving after he allegedly struck and seriously injured an 81-year-old man and his wife with his electric dirt bike in Miami last month.
A Miami Police crash report said the teenager, who has not been identified due to his age, lost control of his dirt bike and slid in to both pedestrians. It also said he was going 20 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone.
The incident happened on January 11th by the entrance to Kennedy Park on South Bayshore Drive. The report said the accident happened at 10:13 a.m.
81-year-old Hank Klein was knocked unconscious and had bleeding on his brain, and recently learned he also has an L 4 compression fracture on his lower back. His wife, 76-year-old Lisa Sloat, was left with a fractured ankle. They were both hospitalized for three weeks.
CBS News Miami spoke with Klein, Sloat, and their attorney, Michael Goldfarb, about the citation and the case.
“The kid was a careless driver. We don’t want him out there doing this again. The fact that that happened to us is insanity and craziness. Most important to me is we need to have rules and laws and regulations,” Klein said.
“I feel like there has to be responsibility for this situation. There should be consequences. Whoever gave him that bike and bought him that bike should have told him that. Someone who IS riding a dirt bike, an e-Bike, or a scooter needs to know the rules of the road for that vehicle. It is a vehicle. They have to be taught how to use it properly,” Sloat said.
The couple’s recovery has been slow in the past month
As for how the couple is recovering, they say that it has been a slow process since last month’s incident.
“We are getting better, but I am not feeling good about it. I still see it happening to me,” said Klein.
Sloat said, “Lately I have moved from a cast to a walking boot, but I can only put 25 per cent weight on my injured foot, and we are starting physical therapy 3 times a week. We need to look at these dirt bikes and really figure out what the right restrictions and penalties.”
“It is great that a young man is being held accountable for what was done. Mr. Klein and Ms. Sloat have not recovered from their inquiries, and they are still in a tremendous amount of discomfort and pain,” said the couple’s attorney.
He also said, “He is 15 years old, and he does not have a driver’s license. He is driving a dirt bike on the roadway of South Florida, which is illegal. You need to have insurance. You need to have a headlight and brake lights. You need to have a registration.”
The couple says it could take months for them to recover.
Goldfarb said he may file a lawsuit.
“I would like to see them make a full recovery. They have a long road ahead. I would like to see them compensated for their injuries. The older you are, the longer it takes to recover,” he said.
CBS News Miami spoke to the teenager’s mother, but we got no response
CBS News Miami also stopped at the teenager’s home, and we spoke off-camera through a Ring camera with the teenager’s mother. She said she had no comment and said that her attorney would be contacting CBS News Miami.
Klein and Sloat said they support a proposed bill in Tallahassee that would limit e-bike speeds to 10 miles per hour on sidewalks and in pedestrian areas.
They were also in the process of drafting letters to both Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava about the dangers of e-bikes when used improperly and the need for more restrictions.
