CT man allegedly hit Avon teen on bike and drove 4 miles with him on car before pushing him off

A man is accused of hitting a high school student on a bike in Avon and driving about four miles before realizing the teen was still on his vehicle, at which point he pushed the boy off the vehicle and took off, according to police.

The boy, a sophomore at Avon High School, was left in serious but stable condition with three brain bleeds and a severely fractured leg, according to the incident report authored by the Avon Police Department .

Police first learned of the crash as they were investigating a report of debris in the roadway on Arch Road that came in shortly after 9:15 p.m. on Friday, the report said. Once at the scene, officers spoke to two motorists, including one who said he was driving when he spotted a bike in the middle of the road and swerved to avoid hitting it. The man pulled over and tried to wave down another motorist who ran over the bike before also pulling over, according to the report.

Police noted that in addition to the bike, candy, pieces of plastic and a shatter headlight were strewn across the road. Officers searched the area and could not find the victim despite the “obvious” evidence suggesting a bicyclist had been hit and the driver involved had taken off, according to the report.

Officers found a cell phone at the scene and were able to call an emergency contact, who turned out to be the victim’s father. While still investigating, police received the report of a hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian in the area of 73 Harris Road, which was just over four miles away from where the bike was found, the report said.

Officers who responded to that scene spoke to a man who said he was driving in a vehicle in front of his wife’s car when he saw the driver of a Subaru Forester pulled over on the side of the road, according to the report. The man said it appeared as though the Subaru driver was throwing something off of his roof before he cut out in front of the man’s wife, the report said. The Subaru was allegedly being driven erratically as they approached the area of Route 4 and had damage to its windshield and headlight, the report said. The witness was able to get the vehicle’s license plate information before the driver passed him and another motorist and turned onto Route 4, according to the report.

At this point, the witness said he and his wife returned to Harris Road and found a boy seriously injured in a driveway, the report said. The teen was taken to Hartford Hospital.

As police continued to investigate they learned that the Subaru was registered to a Farmington woman and that a Flock license plate reader placed the vehicle in the area of Waterville Road and Talcott Notch Road.

Police then received a call from 29-year-old Alex Rivera of New Britain who said he was involved in the crash, the report said. Police met Rivera at the home of the vehicle’s owner.

Officers immediately noticed damage to the front driver’s side headlight, fender and hood. They also saw blood on the right side of the vehicle and a pool of blood on the roof, the report said. The vehicle was seized by police.

Rivera, who had a towel wrapped around scratches and lacerations to his hand, told police he was driving the owner of the vehicle somewhere when an individual allegedly came out of nowhere and hit the car, the report said. He said he assumed the person rolled off the vehicle so he kept going, according to the report.

When Rivera realized the victim was still on top of the car, he reportedly told officers he “freaked out” and pushed him off the roof before calling police, the report said. Two juveniles were in the vehicle at the time. One of them told police she had gotten glass all over her and was “a little traumatized” because she could see someone’s leg on top of the car while they were driving, according to the report.

The owner of the vehicle alleged that she told Rivera to stop after the collision, but he was worried he would go to jail and said he “couldn’t lose his daughter,” the report said. The woman said they continued driving until she noticed a foot hanging near Rivera’s window.

The woman said she covered the children’s eyes as Rivera pulled over and allegedly pushed the individual off the car, according to the report.

Rivera was taken into custody and charged with two counts of risk of injury to a minor and a single count each of evading responsibility involving serious physical injury, first-degree reckless endangerment and operating a motor vehicle without a license. He was held over the weekend on a $75,000 bond and arraigned on Monday in Hartford Superior Court.

A judge increased Rivera’s bond to $100,000 and ordered him to be monitored with a GPS ankle device if he were to make bail. He will also be subject to an 8 p.m. curfew and will not be allowed out of his home before 6 a.m., according to court documents. He was also ordered not to drive.

Rivera remains in custody and is due back in court on Nov. 4.

According to court documents, the victim was still intubated and sedated as of Monday. Doctors told police the most “dangerous” time for him would be between three to five days after the crash.

“Throughout Avon and the Farmington Valley, we are praying,” state Sen. Lisa Seminara said in a statement. “As we pray, we thank God for the good Samaritans in our community who saw something and did something. And we thank law enforcement for swiftly taking action. We will pursue answers and accountability. But for now, we pray for this innocent victim.”

A GoFundMe started on behalf of the boy’s family had raised a little more than $37,000 of its $50,000 goal as of Tuesday afternoon. The boy plays soccer at Avon High School and has a twin brother, according to the fundraiser.