A father in Suffolk County is calling for upgraded charges after a driver was accused of hitting a teenager on a bike and then driving away. The case, captured on video that was first reported by News 12, has left a 13-year-old boy injured and his family demanding that the consequences for the driver match the seriousness of what happened. At the centre of their frustration is the belief that the current charges do not go far enough.
The driver accused in the case has been identified as Charles Draitland. He is now accused of hitting the teen on a bike and also of striking a car in West Islip. After his arrest, Draitland declined to speak with News 12 at his Deer Park home, leaving the account of the incident to the family of the injured boy and to the police.
The boy's father, William McCaw, said his son is recovering from hand, leg and head injuries. Beyond the physical toll, the father described the emotional impact on his son, saying he is a little bit stressed out and, in his words, traumatized. The injuries and the shock have weighed on the teenager in the days since the crash.
The video at the heart of the case shows a driver heading toward a group of children on bikes. According to the account, the footage shows a child fall and then the SUV drive off with a bike underneath it. The incident happened on a Sunday evening on Roderick Road, turning what should have been an ordinary outing for the children into a frightening scene.
About a mile away, at Ruth Street and Kane Street, a neighbour described what he experienced that evening. Speaking off camera, he said he heard a screeching sound at around 7:45 on Sunday evening. When he came out to the curb, he saw a mangled bike lying in the road, a detail that underscored the force of the impact.
Police arrested Draitland on Monday and charged him in connection with the case. He was charged with third-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in personal injury, two misdemeanors. The level of those charges is precisely what has prompted the family's objection, with the father repeatedly stating that the charges are weak.
For the McCaw family, the focus now is on seeing the charges strengthened to reflect what they describe as a deliberate-looking act caught on camera. As the boy recovers from his injuries and the trauma of the crash, his father continues to press the case publicly, arguing that hitting a child on a bike and driving off should carry more than two misdemeanor counts.