Child Riding Bicycle Struck, Killed By Car In Miami Beach
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – A young child riding a bicycle was struck and killed by vehicle in Miami Beach late Saturday morning.
The crash took place near 50th Street and Alton Road.
Authorities have confirmed that the child was 13 year old Rudra Bhatt.
The driver of the vehicle, a dark pickup truck, remained on the scene and is cooperating with authorities.
A longtime family friend tells CBS4's Donna Rapado that the boy was on his way home Saturday morning before the truck hit him.
"I know this kid since the day he was born," said Henry Patel. "And the mother and father have lost their only child."
Miami Beach Police closed part of Alton Road most of Saturday afternoon as they mapped out the scene of the crash with a forensic scanner, the boy, his bike and the truck that killed him side by side.
Adding to the tragedy is the way Bhatt's father found out his only son was killed just blocks away from home.
"He told his father, 'track me'. So while his father was trying to track him on his cell phone, his father saw that he was not responding for several minutes on the same position," explained Bhatt. "The father did not get any call. But he just took off with his car to the location because he was tracking his son. When he came and he saw ambulances and police cars. And so probably that was a father's worst nightmare come true."
Miami Beach Police investigators do not anticipate any criminal charges toward the driver.