Deltona Teen Hit Riding E-Bike on Monday

A 14-year-old student in Deltona was riding his e-bike to school on Monday when he was hit by a vehicle, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office has confirmed. The teenage boy was said to be in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery. According to a description of the collision by the VSO, the teen was riding to a private school he attends near Howland Boulevard and Roble Lane at around 9:00 am on Monday. He was riding on the sidewalk, and was crossing Roble Lane when the incident occurred. A Kia Soul who was preparing to turn from Roble Lane onto Howland Boulevard entered the crosswalk at a slow speed, the VSO says. In doing so, they hit the teen and dragged him about 15 feet. When the vehicle stopped, the boy reportedly was trapped underneath it. Several people leapt into action to free the boy, including a nearby tow truck driver. The Kia was lifted by a team of people so that the boy could be pulled to safety. He was fortunately wearing a helmet, and was said to be conscious at the scene. Emergency response personnel arrived on-scene and observed that the teen had sustained unspecified injuries. He was taken in the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Air One helicopter to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando on trauma alert. The VSO’s Deltona Traffic Unit is investigating the crash. In their statement, the VSO did not explicitly assign blame to either the driver or the teenager. They did, however, include a reminder to drivers to be aware of e-bikes on our near roadways as they become increasingly popular methods of transportation. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly recently advocated for new policies to address the potential dangers associated with increased e-bike usage.