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Family says son was run over by FMPD Officer

Posted at 7:59 PM, Mar 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-29 06:17:28-04

A family says their son was run over by a Fort Myers Police officer while riding an ATV on Easter.

"The officer actually hit him on his 4 wheeler and it threw him on the other side of the ditch," said Belinda Hayden. 

That's as much as Belinda Hayden knows about what happened to her stepson Robert after he rode his ATV in the Dunbar Easter Parade.

"He has broken ribs, his wrist is broken and his leg is broken," said Hayden.

The 20 year-old sustained those injuries after reportedly being run over by a Fort Myers police officer during a high speed chase Sunday Evening.

Belinda told Fox 4 she witnessed police pursuing an ATV, not knowing it was her stepson authorities were chasing. "They chased him down the street, which was a dead end and when he cut through the field, they cut through the field into a residential area where kids are always out there playing," said Hayden. 

Belinda says her inquiries to Fort Myers Police about what happened to her son have gone unanswered.  "No one will talk to us. They will not even let us go into the hospital room to see him. They won't let us talk to him. No communication, no nothing," said Hayden.

Fox 4 contacted the Fort Myers Police Department for more information. We were told an internal investigation is being done on what happened and no one could comment.

Hayden says she was told her son is under arrest for evading an officer, something she says he denies.  

It's not clear what led up to the chase or why Robert was run over, but his family is hoping they'll get answers soon.

"Please communicate, we are his family and we want to know what's going on with our child," said Belinda Hayden.