Police said Patel intentionally struck 14-year-old Hunter Russey, who was riding an e-bike
Kavan Vishnubhai Patel, 32, was arrested Sunday morning and charged with second-degree murder after a 14-year-old boy he allegedly struck with a vehicle died from his injuries, according to the West Melbourne Police Department.
Police say the juvenile was left critically injured along the roadway for nearly an hour before officers discovered him during a search near South Wickham Road.
BREVARD COUNTY • WEST MELBOURNE, FLORIDA —Kavan Vishnubhai Patel, 32, was arrested Sunday morning and charged with second-degree murder after a 14-year-old boy he allegedly struck with a vehicle died from his injuries, according to the West Melbourne Police Department.
Patel, owner of the Corner Store at 1100 S. Wickham Road, is being held without bail at the Brevard County Jail.
Police said Patel intentionally struck 14-year-old Hunter Russey, who was riding an e-bike, on the morning of Oct. 13 along Cocoanut Grove Avenue.
The teen was found unresponsive on the side of the road and was transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center as a trauma alert with severe injuries.
According to Lieutenant Graig Erenstoft of the West Melbourne Police Department, officers were dispatched to the Corner Store at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, after receiving a report of a possible burglary in progress.
Officers arrived within four minutes and contacted Patel, who told them he had received an alert from his alarm company indicating a possible break-in.
Patel reportedly reviewed the store’s closed-circuit surveillance footage and discovered that the front glass door had been shattered.
He also reported seeing a male wearing a light-colored hoodie leaving the area on an electric bicycle.
West Melbourne officers, assisted by deputies from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Melbourne Police Department, began searching the surrounding area for the individual.
The search involved a Melbourne Police Department K-9 unit and the West Melbourne Police Department’s drone unit.
During the search, an officer located Russey, matching the suspect’s description, lying along the side of the roadway.
Investigators said he appeared to have been struck by a vehicle and was then transported to the hospital in critical condition.
As detectives continued investigating the incident, they determined that Patel had allegedly struck the juvenile with his vehicle, left the scene, and then returned to the store.
According to police, Patel did not disclose his involvement to the responding officers and withheld that information until detectives confronted him during the investigation.
Investigators said Russey remained along the roadway for nearly an hour without medical assistance because Patel allegedly failed to stop, render aid, or notify law enforcement after the crash.
After being taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center, Russey was later transferred to Orlando Health Children’s Arnold Palmer Hospital, where he died from his injuries, and his family donated his organs.
