A 16-year-old Riviera Beach boy died Nov. 1 when the minibike he was riding crashed into a car along West Blue Heron Boulevard, police said.
Lindy Douglas died at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where paramedics took him after the afternoon wreck near City Hall. His passenger, Joell Banks, 17, of Loxahatchee sustained minor injuries in the wreck.
Neither Douglas nor Banks wore helmets during the ride, and their bike was not “street legal,” police said, meaning it couldn’t be ridden on a road such as Blue Heron.
The two were eastbound on Blue Heron just before 3 p.m. “above the posted speed limit” when the bike veered into oncoming traffic and struck a 2007 Nissan Sentra driven by a 52-year-old Riviera Beach man, police said.
The Sentra driver remained at the scene and is not facing charges. He did not sustain injuries.
The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of Douglas’ death.
The fatal crash comes at a time when cities across Palm Beach County are looking at the traffic safety issues that e-bikes, e-motos and off-road vehicles like minibikes raise when ridden on local streets and sidewalks.
An e-bike crash in Jupiter in March killed a 12-year-old middle school student. A sheriff’s office crackdown on illegal use of e-motos — electric motorcycles that can travel at speeds of nearly 60 mph — in Wellington resulted in 16 arrests, 51 traffic stops, 26 citations and 24 warnings.
Tom Elia is an editor at The Palm Beach Post, overseeing coverage of public safety, the courts and Palm Beach County’s northern and western communities. You can reach him at telia@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Fatal minibike crash: Riviera police ID 16-year-old who died; neither rider wore helmet
Reporting by Tom Elia, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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