Bond set for 73-year-old man accused of hitting 8-year-old

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A 73-year-old Titusville man was arrested Monday night and charged with hitting an 8-year-old boy with his vehicle and then fleeing the scene, police said.

Thomas Bernard Glidewell is accused of hitting Dayshaun Hill, who was riding his bike on Alpine Lane in Titusville Thursday.

A judge set his bond at $15,000.

Hill said his pedal got hung up on the chain guard, leaving him without a way to stop.

That is when he was hit by a vehicle driven by a man he didn’t know.

The driver left the scene, but circled back around before leaving for good, Hill said.

“Then the guy came and he smiled and waved at me and then he kept driving,” the boy said. “I think that it was creepy, just because he looked at me when he did it.”

Hill was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital with head injuries.

Hill’s grandmother called 911 and followed Glidewell until police arrived.

“It's an older man, it's an older gentleman with some greyish hair, and the windows are very tinted, I can't see,” said the grandmother.

Glidewell told police he stopped to see if the boy was OK, but said he did not hit the child, according to the incident report. Also during questioning, Glidewell said he stopped, but was told to leave.

Glidewell said he remembers hearing a "bang," but insisted his vehicle never struck the boy.

Glidewell was taken to Parrish Medical Center to get checked out, police said.

Hill was released from Arnold Palmer Hospital, feeling lucky to walk away with only a couple of scabs and no permanent damage.

His mother said it was nothing short of a miracle that he was out of the hospital within 24 hours.

Sitting outside Arnold Palmer on Friday, Hill recalled the moment of the crash.

“I went flying off my bike and my bike landed on my legs,” he said, visibly upset.

He kicked the bike off and scrambled into the grass, where neighbors found him and watched the driver leave once, and then again.

The crash was traumatizing, and Hill said he wasn’t sure when he would feel comfortable enough to climb back on a bicycle.

“It makes me afraid to ride my bike again,” he said.

Hill's mother said it was his first bike since he lost all of his possessions in a 2014 house fire.

Neighbors said they were able to get a license plate number, and Titusville police said they located a van shortly after the crash.

During Tuesday’s court appearance, Glidewell limped to his spot to face a judge, his arm was still in a sling.

The assistant state attorney told Eyewitness News on Tuesday the 73-year-old would have been arrested sooner had he not needed medical attention.

Glidewell’s son told Eyewitness News his father is sick and would never  keep driving following the crash. The son said his dad may have suffered a medical episode.

Cox Media Group