Father Charged With Neglect After 13-Year-Old Watching Illegal Street Race Dies In Crash

A Florida man has been arrested on charges of neglect after his 13-year-old son was killed while watching an illegal street race last month, police said Thursday.

The 35-year-old father, Johnny Julio Martin, from Tampa, was arrested in connection with the death of Ethan Julio Martin, who was struck by a speeding motorcycle during an illegal street race on Jan. 28, St. Petersburg Police Department said in a news release.

The tragic incident happened after Ethan stepped into the path of a motorcycle traveling at more than 100 m.p.h. The young teen was hospitalized with injuries and died the following day. Another unidentified bystander was also seriously injured during the crash, Tampa Bay Times reported.

The motorcyclist who struck the teen was released after being treated in hospital with injuries. Police have not revealed the identity of the motorcyclist. It is unclear if the person would face charges as the case is still under investigation, reports said.

Meanwhile, Johnny faces felony charges of child neglect and charges for street racing as a spectator. According to reports, he was released from jail Thursday after posting a $10,000 bail.

"While we have a grieving father, we also have a grieving mother (and) grieving grandparents. When we do this type of arrest of a parent who just lost a child, it's something that we take very seriously and we make sure that when we do it, there's a very justified reason for the charge," Sgt. Michael Schade with the St. Petersburg Police Department's traffic unit told Tampa Bay Times.

Ethan was an eighth-grader at Endeavor Academy and is survived by his parents and two younger siblings. The teen's tragic death shook the family. "Ethan was always an energetic boy, who loved being outdoors in nature or at the beach. His favorite activity was fishing with his family," the family wrote on his obituary page, as reported by NY Post.

In an unrelated incident, a man in the U.K. was arrested on charges of child neglect after leaving his 5-year-old daughter home alone under the watch of Amazon Alexa while he went bar hopping. The incident came to light after the man's neighbor heard screams from the house's garden. Police found out that he strangled his new girlfriend in the middle of an argument. The 30-year-old also confessed to leaving his daughter alone. The unidentified father lost custody of the child, reports said.