On Monday, an 8-year-old kid was riding his dirt bike home when he got hit by a police car in Tampa Bay, Florida. He's been left with severe injuries but is currently alive in hospital.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The officer of the Sarasota Police Department was leaving the scene of an unrelated call. He didn't get far before he collided with the kid, Gerard Butler, sending him flying across the street. In bodycam footage shared by the SPD, the officer leaps from his car and rushes over.
Shocked and startled community members rush to the scene as the officer immediately calls for an ambulance and tries to administer aid to the young boy. "That's my nephew!" can be heard from the background. They are all extremely distraught.
Butler was airlifted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. Since being there, he's already received two brain surgeries and was scheduled for a jaw surgery.
The officer has been placed on administrative duty and was "shaken" by the event although remains unharmed. Chief Rex Troche said in the statement that the crash is being investigated by the SPD and the Florida Highway Patrol.
Kid Hit By Police Car Slowly Making Progress
The boy's mother, Regina Sanders, shared to WWSB that Butler is making progress. "He moved his leg when I first came in." She also reported to another outlet that he's since coughed twice.
She believes him to "be a fighter," and is confident that he'll make it through his injuries.
Sanders stated that she thinks the officer was speeding down the road when the collision happened.
"The cops you just see them flying at least hitting 60 miles and they don't care about the stop signs just flying through the roads," she tells WTSP. "Whether he had a call or not, you had no business going that fast."
The speed of the driver has not been confirmed.
Online, some have expressed their sorrow for the family, but also have slammed the parents for allowing their 8-year-old son to ride a dirt bike with no protective gear. This wouldn't have prevented the hit, although if he was wearing any equipment the injuries may not be so critical, they say.
I wish Gerard Butler a speedy recovery and his family the strength to see through this very trying time.
