13-year-old killed when dad brings him to street race, FL cops say. Man sentenced
.jpg "A 23-year-old former Marine was sentenced to seven years in prison after police said he hit a 13-year-old attendee of a street racing event in Florida.")
A dad brought his 13-year-old son to an “illegal street racing” event in Florida, where the teen was hit and killed by a motorcyclist, police said.
The motorcyclist, 23-year-old Carlos Fernandez, was convicted of vehicular homicide, reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, street racing on a highway and operating a motorcycle without an endorsement, Pinellas County records show.
Fernandez has now been sentenced to seven years in prison, the St. Petersburg Police Department announced June 3.
“Nobody wins here. It’s a tragedy all around,” his attorney, Daniel Fernandez, told McClatchy News.
The lawyer described his client as a 20-year-old enlisted in the Marine Corps who was visiting family in Florida at the time of the accident, which left his right arm paralyzed.
He said his client was extremely remorseful and shouldn’t have been speeding, but the father was the one who took his son to an illegal event.
Fernandez is accused of killing 13-year-old Ethan Julio Martin during what police are calling a street racing event in late January 2023.
As crowds lined up alongside the road, Fernandez was riding a Suzuki motorcycle at a high rate of speed, police said.
Shortly before 1 a.m., the 13-year-old boy tried to cross the street as Fernandez was driving down the road and fatally hit him, causing the boy to hit another bystander, police said.
Fernandez’s defense attorney said a fight had broken out, and the dad ran across the street to check it out when his son ran after him and was hit.
Family described the eighth grader as a loving sibling and son, whose favorite pastime was fishing.
“Ethan was always an energetic boy, who loved being outdoors in nature or at the beach,” family wrote in his obituary.
The boy’s father, 38, was arrested on charges of child neglect and street racing as a spectator, but records show the child neglect case was dropped, and he pleaded no contest to the second charge.
Fernandez’s attorney said he believes his client got a fair result, but they’re pursuing appeals to follow up on motions filed during the case.
St. Petersburg is part of the Tampa Bay area.
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 5:03 PM with the headline "13-year-old killed when dad brings him to street race, FL cops say. Man sentenced."