VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Wednesday he’s offering a $1,000 reward for the identity of two people who were riding an e-bike that struck a 5-year-old boy over the weekend.
The hit-and-run happened Saturday afternoon when two apparent teenagers riding an e-bike southbound near Sun Splash Park struck the child and left the scene, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
According to deputies, the boy had been walking toward the ocean with a bucket when he was hit.
“You could see a tire mark all down the side of his calf. He ran over it and they left the scene,” a lifeguard described.
The child was at the beach with a family friend when it happened, according to the 911 call placed by the boy’s mother.
“She just called me and told me my son got run over by a bike on the beach and kept going. She doesn’t know what to do,” the mother told dispatchers.
[WATCH BELOW: 5-year-old playing on Daytona Beach struck by e-bike in hit-and-run]
The boy was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries and, since then, was said to be “bouncing around in great spirits,” according to Chitwood’s latest post on the matter Wednesday.
“This is the little guy who got hit by an E-bike on the beach this weekend,” Chitwood wrote, including a picture with him and the boy. “(...) I’m offering $1,000 to the person who identifies the riders who fled the scene.”
The post included a surveillance still showing the e-bike riders, viewable at the top of this story.
“E-bikes have become a popular choice in our community over the years but they are still deadly, especially for kids,” the boy’s mother said in a statement shared with News 6. “Beaches aren’t streets — it’s time safety came first.”
Anyone with information to share in the case is asked to contact Deputy Bissonnette at jbissonnette@volusiasheriff.gov, or to call 386-248-1777 regarding case 26-3669.