FHP to probe traffic stop, dirt-bike crash in Boynton Beach in which 13-year-old died
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating an incident in which a 13-year-old boy on a dirt bike died in a crash after police attempted to stop him because he was “driving recklessly,” the Boynton Beach Police Department said in a news release.
Lt. Yanko Reyes, a spokesperson for the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department, confirmed via email Tuesday night that the FHP is investigating the incident.
The teen — whose name has not been officially released — was traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 1, approaching Northeast Eighth Avenue in the left lane, at 12:52 a.m. on Sunday when he “failed to maintain control of the vehicle and collided with the median curb,” the FHP said in the news release.
After impact, the teen was ejected from a dirt bike — identified as vehicle 1 — and collided with a one-way sign that was in the median, per the news release.
He was found face-down on southbound U.S. Highway 1, in the left turn lane to Northeast Eighth Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the police report.
Reyes declined to give the driver’s name and age because the incident is being investigated.
But the Boynton Beach Police Department said in its news release that the driver was a 13-year-old boy.
A family member of the 13-year-old boy said his name was Stanley Davis Jr., NBC affiliate WPTV 5 reported.
“Our community is devastated and grieving,” Boynton Beach Police Chief Michael G. Gregory said in a press conference on Sunday.
Gregory added Sunday that the officer involved was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome, per department policy.
Boynton Beach PD spokesperson Stephanie Slater declined to state the name and rank of the police officer involved, citing a law designed to protect crime victims.
”The officer invoked his right to Marsy’s Law exemptions as he and his family are victims of ongoing threats to their safety,” Slater said Wednesday.
Tina Hunter, the grandmother of the boy, told WPTV 5 that she believed her only grandson panicked.
“They chased him, chased him. He just panicked because he’s a kid. Chased him right to his damn grave and figured he’s just another Black boy and ain’t nothing is going to be done. That’s the prejudice of the Boynton Beach police that we’ve been having problems for all these damn years,” Hunter noted to the TV station.
The Boynton Beach Police Department and the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct their own separate investigations, Gregory said.
After all three investigations conclude, the Boynton Beach police will conduct an internal affairs investigation to determine if the officer violated any department policies or procedures, Gregory added.
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
