PICTURED: Man, 29, arrested for hit-and-run with an illegal dirt bike that left 4-year-old boy in critical condition
A suspect is in custody over a hit-and-run with an illegal dirt bike in New York City that left a four-year-old boy in critical condition Sunday.
Police arrested Argenis Rivas, 29, on Wednesday after a Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest, police sources told ABC New York.
Four-year-old Johnathan Beauchamp was inside a parking lot at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Boathouse in Queens with his parents Sunday, when he was struck by the illegal dirt bike just before 6pm.
Beauchamp ran out from in between two parked cars when he was hit by a dirt biker who was driving through the parking lot.
The biker fled the scene without stopping. Beauchamp was taken to Cohen Children's Medical Center with severe head trauma.
Rivas is being charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident with injury, acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17, operating a vehicle without insurance, operating an unregistered motorcycle, and unlicensed operator.
Argenis Rivas, 29, is in custody for a hit-and-run that left a 4-year-old boy boy in critical condition Sunday, after he was struck by a dirt bike in Queens, police said
Rivas was arrested Wednesday after a Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest, police sources told ABC New York.
Four-year-old Johnathan Beauchamp was inside a parking lot at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Boathouse with his parents Sunday, when he was struck by an illegal dirt bike just before 6 p.m
'Dirt bikes going back and forth, there was so much going on, we didn't realize somebody got hit until the ambulance came,' witness Harold Hadalgo told ABC 7.
Back in May, the NYPD announced a crackdown on illegal vehicles across the city. On Monday, the NYPD's 110th Precinct, which covers the park, tweeted:
'Recent collisions with operators of illegal dirt bikes and ATVs have lead to fatalities & serious injuries. These motor vehicles are illegal & shouldn't be operated on NYC roads. If you drive these illegal dirt bikes & ATVs, they will be confiscated & you will be arrested.'
Police are investigating the hit-and-run incident, which took place at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Boathouse parking lot
This footage shows the pervasive problem dirt bikes have become in New York City as group ride the illegal bikes in the streets
'The NYPD has been very aggressive. If one's out there, it's immediately illegal. It's just not allowed in New York City and we will destroy them, literally, and send a message to people,' Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Residents had recently called on elected officials to increase penalties for those illegally riding dirt bikes and ATVs.
Officers are not allowed to pursue people on these vehicles, but they usually trail the riders and wait for them at gas stations.
Officials said eight people have been killed and 350 others have been injured by illegal bikes in the first quarter of this year.
Mark Gjonaj, a Democratic city councilmember from the Bronx, is proposing a bill to increase penalties to $750 for first time offenders and $1,500 for second offenses.
Gjonaj added that the vehicles have been connected to several crimes in the city, including a carjacking and shooting on the George Washington Bridge by a group of dirt bike riders last week, NY1 reports.
'It's becoming a weapon and means of escape, knowing that no one will chase you. The image that it really presents is that we are in a city of lawlessness,' said Gjonaj.
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