Battle Creek 11-Year-Old On Minibike Killed After Crash With Sheriff’s Deputy

A young Battle Creek boy was killed Tuesday night after he was struck by a law enforcement vehicle.

The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office says that their deputies had been responding to reports of a burglary in progress around 9:30pm Tuesday in the City of Springfield; as they were on the way, a deputy collided with an 11-year-old boy driving a compact two wheel motorbike on Michigan Ave. near Lenon St. in Battle Creek; that's next to Leila Arboretum. The boy was taken to the hospital in Kalamazoo, but was pronounced dead. The Sheriff’s Deputy was taken to Bronson Battle Creek, but they were not injured.

The accident is now being investigated by the Michigan State Police Marshall Post.

Miniature motorcycles, colloquially called “pocket rockets”, are sometimes bought as toys for children, but they can often reach speeds up to 50 miles per hour. Very rarely do they meet the requirements to be considered street legal even for adult use, as they are usually lacking things like rearview mirrors, mufflers, and headlights.