MIAMI (WSVN) – Rescue crews airlifted an 11-year-old to the hospital after the young pedestrian was hit by a car in a Miami Gardens neighborhood, prompting officers to arrest the driver, police said.<\/p>\n
Miami Gardens Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the wreck near the intersection of Northwest 188th Street and 12th Avenue, at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Investigators said the driver of a black Ford Fusion was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed when he drove on the swale to avoid slow traffic.<\/p>\n
MGPD officials have identified the driver as 23-year-old Darius Forbes.<\/p>\n
Seconds later, police said, Forbes struck a tree and then the victim, who was walking on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
A surveillance camera captured audio of the moment of impact.<\/p>\n
A rescue helicopter landed near the campus of Miami Norland Senior High School and airlifted the young victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he is being treated for a head injury.<\/p>\n
The victim\u2019s mother, Shakera Rolle, spoke with 7News about her experience after the incident from the hospital. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was definitely traumatized when I got the phone call,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
She said her young boy was walking to school with his cousin like they do every morning. But this one turned into a nightmare. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s doing OK, he\u2019s pretty banged up and bruised up. He has a small fracture on the right side of his forehead,\u201d said Rolle.<\/p>\n
Back at the scene, Forbes\u2019 car crashed into a chain-link fence outside of Rose Emile\u2019s home, located just south of a school zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was inside my house, I hear some noise. When I hear big noise like this, I say, \u2018Whats going on?’\u201d said Emile.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard like a big bang, like, I don\u2019t know, like, explosion, I hear \u2018boom,’\u201d said witness Orlando Lawrence.<\/p>\n
7 Drone Force hovered above the scene, as the Fusion was seen against the fence with its driver\u2019s side air bag deployed.<\/p>\n
Emile said the car came to rest in her front yard, adding she came outside and spoke with the driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019 It\u2019s just a man who was doing the accident. He said, \u2018I\u2019m the one who do this, do the accident,’\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
7News cameras captured Forbes, who was in handcuffs, wearing pajamas. He was placed in the back of a police car.<\/p>\n
According to neighbors, the child who was hit is in elementary school.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter started getting emotional, can\u2019t stop crying, stuff like that. She said she knows the kid,\u201d said Lawrence.<\/p>\n
Lawrence was one of those who called 911.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first he wasn\u2019t responsive when I got out, just throwing water on his head and trying to, you know, big gash on his head,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As of late Tuesday night, the boy is listed in serious but stable condition.<\/p>\n
A photo provided to 7News shows the victim, Johnny Baptiste Jr., who remains in the hospital with a fractured skull and pelvis.<\/p>\n
Rolle now has a message to the driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just [want to] tell him that I\u2019m really hurt, about the whole situation. You know, my son was just on the way to school. I just wish he paid more attention to the road, because there is a school zone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
While her son recovers from his head injury, Rolle now questions if that walk to school is even safe at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was safe because there\u2019s a crossing guard there, and its a school zone, so now I\u2019m not even comfortable with him walking to school even if its two blocks away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Forbes is charged with reckless driving. <\/p>\n
Neighbors said they want to see more police monitoring the speeding, especially during school hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cSlow down, because kids, they are playing and, you know, sometimes, I\u2019m gonna be walking across the street, you know, but it\u2019s always speeding, you know,\u201d said Lawrence.<\/p>\n
The sedan has since been towed away from the scene.<\/p>\n
Rolle said that her son could be released from the hospital tomorrow.<\/p>\n
An investigation into this crash continues.<\/p>\n
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