An Auburndale High School student was killed Tuesday morning after he was hit by an SUV while riding his electric scooter in unincorporated Winter Haven, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies say they were called just before 6 a.m. Tuesday to the area of 34th Street NW and Avenue S NW after getting reports a vehicle had hit a teen.
Yeriel Gonzalez, 15 of Winter Haven, died at the scene. Deputies say Gonzalez was riding a small black-and-white electric scooter near the center of the southbound lane of 34th Street. He was heading to a friend’s house, the sheriff’s office said.
As he was riding his scooter, a 29-year-old Winter Haven man in a Dodge Durango SUV was going northbound on 34th Street on his way to work. Deputies say the driver was behind another vehicle as it approached the Avenue S NW intersection. The man reportedly told deputies he swerved to avoid hitting dogs that ran into the roadway and entered the southbound lane, directly into Gonzalez’s path.
Gonzalez collided with the right front of the SUV and later died.
The sheriff’s office says the investigation is ongoing. Chaplins with the sheriff’s office met with Gonzalez’s family. Support is being provided to the Auburndale High School faculty, staff and students “during this difficult time.”
“Yeriel’s family is in our prayers,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
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Source: wtsp
