Cooper City student dies a day after being hit by car near school, deputies say
A Cooper City High student hospitalized with serious injuries after he was hit by a Tesla while riding a scooter near the school on Monday died, according to deputies.
Anthony Malec, 16, was pronounced dead Tuesday morning, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
Just after 8 a.m., Fritznie Jarbeth, 40, was driving east on Stirling Road in a 2022 Tesla Model X when Malec — riding a stand-up electric scooter — began to cross the road diagonally near Cooper City High
School, 9401 Stirling Rd., the sheriff’s office said.
That’s when BSO noted the student “rode into the path of the Tesla and was struck.”
Malec was not in a designated crosswalk as he crossed Stirling Road, according to the sheriff’s office. Neither excessive speed nor impairment are believed to be factors in the crash. A police dispatcher told first responders the child was bleeding from the head and lying on the roadway.
The “child is not moving,” the dispatcher said.
Malec was taken in critical condition to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Broward Sheriff Fire and Rescue Battalion
Chief Michael Kane said.
Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami’s helicopter crew reported seeing blood, a scooter and a red Tesla with damage to its windshield. The Tesla driver stayed near the crash site, the sheriff’s office said.
Malec was a student at the school, said Keyla Concepción, a spokeswoman with Broward County Public Schools.
Vera Perkovic, the principal at Cooper City High School, told parents in an email that counselors are available for students.
“I want you to know we remain in close communication with the student’s family and will do everything we can to provide support during this difficult time,” Perkovic said.