INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been charged for his alleged role in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 14-year-old bicyclist on the far east side of Indianapolis.
Prosecutors charged Joshua Raine with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or catastrophic injury. The charge was filed seven days after the incident happened.
The crash was reported just before 10 p.m. Oct. 10 in the 1100 block of North Cumberland Road, just north of 10th Street.
An IMPD spokesperson said a boy on a bicycle, later identified as 14-year-old Wilberto Rivera III, was riding south on Cumberland Road when he was hit from behind by a car that fled the scene after the crash.
Rivera was taken to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis in critical condition, police said.
On Oct. 14, the Marion County Coroner's Office confirmed Rivera died from his injuries in the crash.
According to court documents, Rivera was riding his bike while a group of his friends were walking in the grass. The friends told officers that Rivera was hit by a black Chrysler.
At the scene, investigators found several pieces from the car involved, including glass from the passenger side mirror, chrome-colored plastic piece with Chrysler on it, clear plastic pieces and a vanity license plate.
Court documents say automatic license plate readers indicated a 2019 Chrysler 300, registered to Raine, was in the area around the time of the crash.
The day after the crash, other automatic license plate readers and intersection cameras captured the same car, showing it was missing the passenger mirror glass and had front-end damage.
On Oct. 11, detectives learned Raine had gone to police headquarters to report a crash he was in on Cumberland Road.
According to court documents, Raine spoke with detectives and said he was listening to music loudly while driving to work when he hit something. Raine allegedly said he looked in his rearview mirror after he slowed down, but Raine said he didn't see anything, saw another car behind him that also didn't stop, so he assumed he hit a deer.
Raine allegedly told detectives that he took a nap after his shift at work. When he woke up, Raine said he saw an alert on his cellphone from a local news station, asking him if he wanted to share his side of the story.
According to court documents, Raine said he then searched the internet and saw the news story of the crash involving Rivera and realized he might have been driving the car that hit the teenager.
Detectives said Raine was visibly upset during the interview and expressed remorse for the incident. Raine allegedly said he would have stopped if he knew he had hit Rivera.
Court documents say detectives then went to search Raine's car, confirming the evidence found at the scene and damage to the car were a match.
“We need somebody to tell us anything. I don't care how small it is. We need someone to tell us something. He's a kid. He didn't deserve that," said Simone Harris, Rivera's aunt.
Harris said Rivera was on fall break and was heading home with friends at the time. She said the worst part is that the driver didn’t even bother to stop.
"Stop. Just stop. Give somebody some help. It may be a different outcome if you stop,” Harris said.
