HEMET, Calif. (KNX) — Four teenagers were arrested Friday on suspicion of pushing a 15-year-old male in front of a car that hit him near an intersection in Hemet in February. The victim sustained significant brain injuries as a result of the collision, according to Hemet police.
Three 15-year-old boys and a 16-year old boy, all students at Hemet High School, were booked into Riverside Juvenile Hall on various offenses, including assault. None were identified due to their minor status, though Hemet police have confirmed two of the suspects are relatives.
The victim, also not identified, has been in intensive care for brain trauma since the Feb. 28 incident.
The victim was skateboarding shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 along Stetson Avenue, near Seven Hills Drive. Hemet police said he was traveling eastbound when he encountered a group of young people including the suspects. The suspects were believed to have initiated an altercation with the victim.
"A brief altercation ensued, resulting in the 15-year-old being pushed into traffic lanes," Hemet Police Lt. Nathan Miller said. "About that time, a Tesla being driven by a 52-year-old man ... struck the teen, resulting in significant injuries."
The driver immediately stopped and called 911, according to Miller. The suspects, however, grabbed the victim’s skateboard and fled the scene, he alleged.
The Tesla driver was questioned and determined not to be at fault in any way, Miller added.
The victim remains hospitalized at a regional trauma center. His family is maintaining “a vigil at his bedside,” Miller said. He declined to explain what might have prompted the altercation inciting the alleged assault.
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