A girl’s youth basketball coach in Connecticut is accused of vehicular assault after video captured him plowing into someone and driving off after an argument about a weekend game, authorities said Monday.
The hit, which sent the apparent victim tumbling over the vehicle’s hood, happened Saturday at Horace W. Porter School, east of Hartford, Connecticut State Police said in a news release.
The coach, Bryan Baez-Rivera, 29, also faces charges of breach of peace, risk of injury to a minor and reckless endangerment, state police said.
Baez-Rivera could not be reached for comment Monday. The youth basketball team that he appears to be associated with did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This [is] not something we encourage or expect,” said Mark Walter, town administrator of Columbia, where the game was played. “We want our children to have fun, feel safe, and enjoy sports,” NBC Connecticut reported him saying.
In a statement Monday, Horace W. Porter School said school staff members are available to help students process the event.
The incident, the school said, occurred during a Parks & Recreation basketball game. According to a criminal information summary released by authorities, the argument was “regarding” the game.
According to the release, the apparent victim told authorities they tried to approach the visiting team’s coach in the parking lot after the game, but the coach “intentionally” struck them. The person, who was not identified, was hospitalized with minor injuries, according to the release.
Baez-Rivera called authorities afterward and said the person he’d struck chased him, then walked in front of his car, according to the release. Baez-Rivera said he hadn’t been able to stop in time, the release says.
“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,” the release says.
Security video from the school that was released by authorities shows the person running after Baez-Rivera’s sedan in a snowy parking lot.
When the sedan keeps driving, the person walks into the street and stands in front of it for roughly three seconds before the collision, the video shows. The person flips over the hood and falls to the ground before getting up.
The driver doesn’t appear to hit the brakes, the video shows, and he keeps driving.
The news release said he appeared to make no attempt to avoid striking the victim.
Baez-Rivera was arrested without incident and released on $5,000 bond, according to the release.
