The statute also says that anyone who sells a minibike must post a notice saying the vehicle is not legal on public roads and can be used only on private property.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Minibike-Unspash.webp.webp\")
A typical dirt minibike, although this one may differ from the one a 12-year-old was riding in St. Johns County. | Leo Visions, Unsplash<\/p>\n
Why the 12-year-old was riding a minibike near a school is unclear.<\/p>\n
Sheriff\u2019s Office spokesperson Taylor Levesque said the academy released its students about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday. She said that the crash occurred just before 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe child attended the school, but the school release time and time of the crash are not related,\u201d she said. \u201cThis did not occur during school release times.\u201d<\/p>\n
School district spokesperson Christina Upchurch confirmed that the crash occurrred after a crossing guard had left. The guards\u2019 afternoon work starts at 2:15 p.m., and they remain on duty for about 25 minutes.<\/p>\n
The child did not go on school grounds with the minibike, Upchurch said. And she said the child \u201cdid not ride the gas-powered minibike to school.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/635452982_1303226018496743_9039618961670953577_n-1.webp.webp\")
A gas-powered minibike lies in the road after a 12-year-old child was killed in a crash Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. | St. Johns County Sheriff\u2019s Department<\/p>\n
Neither the school district nor the Sheriff\u2019s Office explained why the child was riding the minibike near the school an hour after dismissal.<\/p>\n
Levesque said that where the victim was going is a part of the investigation. The crosswalk outside the school connects directly to a walkway off Longleaf Pine Parkway that goes into one of the many subdivisions to its north of the school, where many students live and walk or bicycle to class daily.<\/p>\n
The Code of Conduct<\/p>\n
The school district\u2019s Student Code of Conduct has rules for any student riding bicycles, electric bicycles or scooters. Helmets are required in line with state law.<\/p>\n
The 12-year-old outside Patriot Oaks Academy was wearing a helmet.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor their safety, students should never ride any type of bicycle, electric bike, or scooter on school grounds,\u201d the code of conduct says. \u201cUpon arrival at school, students are required to disembark their vehicle at the entry gate and walk it to the designated storage area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students also must stay off their two-wheelers until they have left campus, the code says.<\/p>\n
As for e-bikes, state law allows anyone who is at least 16 years old to ride one if it cannot go faster than 20 mph. <\/p>\n
A number of serious e-bike crashes in St. Johns County last year prompted the Sheriff\u2019s Office to partner with the school district to launch mandatory e-bike safety classes for sixth through eighth graders.<\/p>\n
The safety campaign came just months after Wolfson Children\u2019s Hospital reported that its doctors observed a 222% increase<\/a> in injuries related to e-bikes and e-scooters from 2023 to 2024. Based on data from the first five months of 2025, the children\u2019s hospital in Jacksonville said e-bike injuries were on track to double again.<\/p>\n The St. Johns County Board of Commissioners also approved a resolution <\/a>in August 2025 on e-bike safety, forming an alliance with the Sheriff\u2019s Office and school district to partner on public education and enforcement efforts with the community.<\/p>\n Gas minibike safety is included in safety lectures the Sheriff\u2019s Office holds at schools, the department said.<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Office and school district also attended a community traffic safety program<\/a> sponsored by the Florida Department of Transportation in August 2025, to work on e-bike protocols.<\/p>\n The group also discussed Senate Bill 462 \u2013 Transportation<\/a>, which went into effect July 1, 2025, and gives local governments the authority to adopt additional regulations related to electric bicycles.<\/p>\n To that end, St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick was drafting legislation<\/a> to update Florida\u2019s laws regarding e-bikes. CS\/HB 243<\/a> would set up requirements for operation of electric bicycles, plus penalties for violations. The bill was temporarily postponed in the Florida House in mid-February.<\/p>\n Mourning the death<\/p>\n As a memorial of flowers and candles grows in front of Patriot Oaks Academy, Principal Drew Chiodo announced that counselors and the school district\u2019s crisis response team would be on campus \u201cfor as long as necessary to ensure everyone has access to care.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur deepest sympathy and heartfelt concern are with the student\u2019s family, close friends, neighbors, classmates, and teachers during this incredibly difficult time,\u201d Chiodo wrote. \u201cThe coming days will be challenging for our school community. Please know that you are not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n At nearby Switzerland Point Middle School, the Parent Teacher Student Organization posted that they want to show their neighbors \u201cthat they are not alone.\u201d The group urged the county\u2019s school communities to join together in support on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are asking all students and staff to wear red, white and blue (the Patriot Oaks school colors),\u201d the message said. \u201cOur goal is to show the families, students, and staff that the entire St. Johns County community is standing with them during this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The death of a 12-year-old child on a gas-powered minibike in St. Johns County is raising questions about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-162038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}