April 27, 2026
The City of Brevard Sports Complex on Ecusta Road was the location of a scary motor vehicle collision between a 7-year-old boy and a driver later arrested for being under the influence of alcohol in the parking lot of the public baseball and soccer fields on April 21. BrevardBeagle.com photo by Jonathan Rich
Jonathan Rich
BrevardBeagle.com
A collision involving a 7-year-old-boy on his bicycle and a truck at the Brevard Sports Complex last week resulted in the child being airlifted to a nearby hospital, the driver being arrested for alcohol impairment and city officials promising to review and upgrade parking enforcement near the public baseball and soccer fields on Ecusta Road.
This stretch of unmarked gravel parking between the City of Brevard’s Dog Park and Skate Parks was the location of an April 21 collision between a 7-year-old bicyclist and a 59-year-old man driving a Toyota Tacoma truck inside the City Sports Complex off Ecusta Road. BrevardBeagle photo by Jonathan Rich
On Tuesday, April 21, a 7-year-old boy was briefly hospitalized after he was run over by a Toyota Tundra driven by a 59-year-old man.
Brevard Police Chief Christy Wentzell said the child was traveling from the dog park section of the property to the adjacent skate park around 7 p.m. when the driver of the truck made a left turn into the parking lot and collided with the boy and his bike. The young cyclist was later airlifted to an area hospital and released after treatment for his injuries.
Emergency responders said they smelled alcohol on the driver’s breath. The man tested positive on a portable alcohol breath test at the Sports Complex. He was subsequently arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol. The driver was taken to jail for criminal processing and he consented to have his blood drawn, but the toxicology results have not yet been released.
Parking and safety signage such as this already at the Brevard Spots Complex will soon be in greater numbers across the Ecusta Road facility. BrevardBeagle photo by Jonathan Rich
All this was discussed at Monday afternoon’s City of Brevard Public Safety Committee meeting when representatives from the Brevard Police Department, Brevard Fire Department and city administration agreed to update and upgrade signage at the Sports Complex parking lot to allow clear and safe movement for all forms of transportation.
“We can draw up some possible striping scenarios that we can apply to the parking lot there that would be able to designate parking, specifically where people can and can’t park,” explained City Manager Wilson Hooper of his ongoing talks with emergency officials and staff in the Planning Department to better maintain sight lines for cyclists and pedestrians using the two trails that intersect in the crowded parking lot where the accident occurred. “I will say, and this is probably not going to be popular, but I think that by giving order to the parking out there and building some sight triangles and so forth … I think this incident goes to show that safety is the most important.”
Both City Manager Hooper and Police Chief Wentzell said the public can also expect more law enforcement presence during peak times when the sports fields are in use and that increased parking enforcement for visitors’ safety will happen at least through baseball season and into the fall for soccer and youth football games.