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Teen riding bike across intersection hit by car

By JOSE CARDENAS
Published November 18, 2006

LARGO - A 16-year-old boy struck by a car as he rode his bicycle across Missouri Avenue was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in critical condition Friday while the driver was arrested at the scene of the accident.

But the driver, 19-year-old Miguel Martinez, of Largo, was not at fault, Largo police Sgt. George Edmonston said. Martinez was arrested for driving with a suspended license and for initially lying to police about his name.

Martinez had a green light as he drove a white Honda Accord south on Missouri Avenue near Ponce de Leon Boulevard a little after 3 p.m., authorities said. The teenager, whose name was not immediately available, was riding east across Missouri when Martinez struck him.

The boy tried to cross at the north side of the intersection but his bike and a shoe ended up on the crosswalk on the south side.

Martinez was arrested in April for driving without a valid driver's license and possession of marijuana, according to jail records.

Edmonston said Martinez was tested for alcohol and drugs at the scene but results would not be known for several weeks.

[Last modified November 17, 2006, 22:48:03]