Police officer cited in incident involving teen bicyclist in Port St. Lucie
PORT ST. LUCIE − A Fort Pierce police officer Tuesday got a warning citation after reports his patrol car entered an intersection and struck a teen on a bicycle who was crossing a road with the crosswalk light, according to Port St. Lucie police records.
Where and when: The incident happened about 3 p.m. March 12 at Southwest Becker Road and Southwest Savona Boulevard in Port St. Lucie.
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What happened: Reports indicate a 14-year-old boy on a bicycle rode east on Southwest Becker Road. He went to cross Southwest Savona Boulevard with the walk signal when he was “clipped” by what Port St. Lucie police determined was a Fort Pierce police vehicle driven by Officer Erik Arellano.
Afterwards: Arellano reportedly checked on the boy, and offered him a bandage. They went their separate ways. Port St. Lucie police began investigating after a parent got concerned because the driver left no information, nor did he notify the parents. Arellano initially denied being involved in a crash, but ultimately said he was. On Tuesday, he was issued a warning citation. In a statement form, Arellano indicated he didn’t see the cyclist and “bumped” the youth as he made a right turn. A warning citation carries no monetary fine or points on the license, police said.
From Fort Pierce Police Department: "We are aware of the incident involving Officer Erik Arellano and it remains under investigation by our Internal Affairs Division," said Larry D. Croom, public affairs manager.
Arellano is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, he said.
"We take situations such as this quite serious and our investigation of this incident will be extremely thorough. We will be able to comment further once our investigation has been completed."
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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on Twitter @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: The crash happened at SW Becker Road and SW Savona Boulevard
