LORAIN, Ohio — Authorities in Lorain have released video showing the moment a man died when the dirt bike he was operating crashed into a police cruiser.
The incident occurred after 9 p.m. Wednesday, when officers originally went to the 2300 block of Homewood Drive to arrest a 16-year-old boy with multiple felony warrants. As law enforcement searched the home and eventually took two other people into custody, a bike could be heard riding around the area, with its driver allegedly taunting officers.
Dash camera footage from the Lorain Police Department shows the dirt bike speeding through the area, just missing officers while going about 70 miles an hour. The bike then slammed into an empty and unmarked police car that had its emergency lights activated.
Twenty-two-year-old Sandalio Rodriguez, who was not connected to the original search warrant, was ejected on impact and thrown into the street. He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, and authorities believe he was drunk at the time of the collision. He was also not wearing a helmet.
Rodriguez's family was in the area and notified of his death by police. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover his funeral costs and has already raised more than $5,000.
Additionally, police are calling on residents to not share false information on social media after a someone posted in a Lorain community Facebook group claiming officers executed a raid and hit a civilian on a bike, letting them lay there for minutes. The dash camera video shows it was indeed the bike that struck the cruiser, and officials add they "IIMMEDIATELY ran to render aid to the male on the dirt bike without hesitation."
The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to immediately call the Lorain Police Department's traffic division at (440) 204-2105.