A Nocatee minor was arrested last week after fleeing deputies on an electric motorcycle and crashing during the pursuit, according to a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office report.
Deputies were dispatched Thursday evening to Treasure Harbor Drive and Tamarac Avenue following multiple complaints of kids riding e-bikes recklessly in the roadway.
A responding deputy soon spotted two juveniles speeding down Park Lake Drive near the community’s commercial center. The boys began popping wheelies and looking back toward the deputy before he activated his lights and sirens, the report states.
Rather than stop, the pair took off, blowing through stop signs as they weaved through neighborhood streets.
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One of the teens attempted to cut sharply onto a sidewalk but lost control, slamming “into a brick wall,” according to the arrest report. He tried to remount, but the damaged steering caused him to crash again into a park bench.
The deputy then “grabbed him and pulled him away from the bike and detained him,” the report states.
The boy was evaluated at the scene by St. Johns County Fire Rescue and released to his parents because of his age.
Deputies determined he had been operating an electric motorcycle — not an e-bike — and cited him for riding without a license.
He now faces charges of felony fleeing and eluding law enforcement and misdemeanor operating a motorcycle without a license.
The boy told deputies he did not know the other rider, who fled and was not located.
Sheriff Robert Hardwick has repeatedly urged parents to be vigilant about the growing misuse of electric transportation devices by minors.
The Sheriff’s Office has also pledged to stepped up enforcement on reckless riders.
