Palm Bay: Two children hit by cars on way to school, police say

PALM BAY, Fla. — Two children walking to two different schools were struck by vehicles Thursday morning, Palm Bay police said.

A 12-year-old boy was riding his bike to Discovery Elementary School when he was struck by a Christopher Harris, 31, of Palm Bay, police said.  A witness helped the 12-year-old at Glencove Avenue and Emerson Drive and saw a partial license tag of what is believed to be Harris' vehicle and notified police, investigators said.

The child had minor injuries, and Harris was later taken into custody, police said.

"The sad part was that the guy just took off, ran over the boy's bike and just took off," eyewitness Tina Wiest said.

Another child on their way to Odyssey Charter School was in a crosswalk with their father when they were hit by a vehicle, police said.

That driver did stop and was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian.

"Starting Monday, even though it's not protocol, we're going to have a crossing guard starting Monday and we'll evaluate it to see if it needs to be continued," Lt. Mike Bandish, with the Palm Bay Police Department, said.

The city of Palm Bay approved last month hiring 10 new crossing guards. The city is also spending $133,000 on flashing solar school zone signs.

Cox Media Group