After a disagreement over a Saturday game, a Connecticut girl’s youth basketball coach was seen on camera smashing into someone and driving away, leading officials to charge him with vehicular assault on Monday.
According to a news release from the Connecticut State Police, the head-on collision occurred Saturday at Horace W. Porter School, east of Hartford, and sent the presumed victim sliding over the hood of the coach.
According to state police, the 29-year-old coach, Bryan Baez-Rivera, is also charged with reckless endangerment, violation of peace, and risk of harm to a youngster.
On Monday, Baez-Rivera was unavailable for comment. A request for comment was not immediately answered by the young basketball squad he seems to be affiliated with.
The administrator for the town of Columbia, where the game was played, Mark Walter, stated, “This [is] not something we encourage or expect.” According to NBC Connecticut, he stated, “We want our kids to enjoy sports, feel safe, and have fun.”
The Horace W. Porter School announced in a statement on Monday that staff members are on hand to assist pupils in processing the event.
According to the school, the event happened during a basketball game hosted by Parks & Recreation. Authorities said the argument was “regarding” the game in a criminal information summary.
The release claims that the alleged victim told police that after the game, they attempted to approach the coach of the visiting team in the parking lot, but the coach purposefully hit them. According to the release, the unnamed individual was admitted to the hospital with minor wounds.
According to the release, Baez-Rivera later called the police to report that the individual he had hit had chased him and then crossed in front of his vehicle. According to the announcement, Baez-Rivera claimed he was unable to halt in time.
“Baez-Rivera reported that multiple people then began to chase after his vehicle, and he left the property out of concern for his own safety as well as his passengers, which included minor children,” according to the release.
Authorities have released security footage from the school that shows the individual chasing Baez-Rivera’s vehicle through a snowy parking lot.
According to the video, the individual enters the roadway as the coach continues to drive and stands in front of Baez-Rivera’s vehicle for around three seconds prior to the collision. Before rising, the individual can be seen tossing the hood over and landing on the ground.
The video indicates that Baez-Rivera continues to drive without applying the brakes.
According to the news release, he didn’t seem to try to avoid hitting the victim.
According to the announcement, Baez-Rivera was taken into custody without incident and freed on $5,000 bail.