FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A 14-year-old boy riding a mini bike died in a crash Friday evening in Fort Pierce, police said.
In a social media post, the Fort Pierce Police Department said the teen and another person were riding east on Soltman Avenue just after 7 p.m. when the driver didn't stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Birch Street and collided with a 2023 Ford F-250 pickup.
Both riders were thrown from the bike.
The 14-year-old Fort Pierce boy was critically injured. He was taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, where he died from his injuries on Sunday.
The other rider took off with the damaged mini bike, along with two riders on a second mini bike. None of those riders have been found, and it's unclear who was driving the mini bike that crashed, police said.
Two men inside the pickup truck were not hurt.
Bill Price, who lives in the area where the crash happened, said it might look like a quiet stretch of road, but looks can be deceiving.
"They go all over, go racing toward Havana (Avenue) over there," Price said. "They're everywhere, Orange Avenue. They're all over town."
Fort Pierce police officer Nicholas Anton said mini bikes are "becoming more of an issue."
Police said if a bike has a motor and goes over 30 mph, the driver needs to have a license and it needs to be registered. It's also illegal to ride on public roads, but trail riding and off-road situations are not regulated.
"You can ride it on private property as long as you have permission of that private property owner," Anton said.
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For businesses involved in street bikes, dirt bikes and motocross, these stories are devastating as they say their sport continues to grow.
"First thing, when you're riding a dirt bike or any type of motorized motorcycle, have the proper gear," Bob Brewster, who owns WMR Competition Performance in Stuart, said. "Pads in the knees [and] in the back if you fall off."
He said children as young as 4 and 5 years old get on motorized bikes, so instilling good habits is key.
"If you do that in the beginning, when you begin to ride a motorcycle, you find that you don't feel comfortable without the gear," Brewster said.
Brewster said it's always been an issue finding places where people can ride legally, but the sport is a great family activity.
"You don't just send a kid off to do it by themselves, typically it's a family activity," Brewster said. "The mom, the dad they load up the truck with the gear and make a day of it."
Anyone with information about the crash or the other riders involved is asked to call Fort Pierce police Officer Shayne Stokes at 772-302-4764 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 800-273-8477.
