Investigators say Hunter Russey remained along a West Melbourne roadside for nearly an hour before officers searching after a reported burglary found him.
WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. — A reported store break-in developed into a vehicle pursuit and a fatal collision that left a 14-year-old boy critically injured beside a West Melbourne road for nearly an hour, according to police, who have now charged the store owner with second-degree murder.
West Melbourne police say Kavan Vishnubhai Patel, 32, followed a person riding an electric bicycle after receiving an alarm alert at his business early Oct. 13. Investigators allege Patel intentionally struck 14-year-old Hunter Russey with his vehicle, drove away and returned to his store without telling responding officers that he had been involved. Russey died Saturday after several days on life support, prompting police to rearrest Patel on a murder charge.
The sequence began around 4:30 a.m., when officers were dispatched to the Corner Store on South Wickham Road after a report of a possible burglary in progress. Police said Patel told officers his alarm company had alerted him and that surveillance video showed the store’s front glass door had been broken. Patel reported seeing a person in a light-colored hoodie leaving the area on an electric bicycle.
Officers arrived within minutes and began looking for the person described by Patel. The search included assistance from other law enforcement agencies, according to local reports based on police information. During that search, an officer found Russey along Cocoanut Grove Avenue. Investigators said he appeared to have been struck by a vehicle and was unresponsive.
Police said detectives later determined that Patel had followed the rider and intentionally struck him with his vehicle. Investigators allege Patel then left the scene, returned to the store and withheld what had happened when officers arrived to investigate the reported break-in. Police said Russey remained along the roadway for nearly an hour without medical assistance because Patel did not stop to render aid or notify law enforcement about the collision.
Investigators also examined evidence that they said challenged Patel’s initial account of the morning. Police reported finding damage to Patel’s vehicle, and video gathered during the investigation captured evidence associated with the collision. Authorities said Patel disclosed his involvement after detectives confronted him. Police also said Patel acknowledged that he should have contacted law enforcement rather than striking the rider and said he had been angry.
Russey was taken first to Holmes Regional Medical Center as a trauma patient and later transferred to Orlando Health Children’s Arnold Palmer Hospital. He remained on life support as doctors treated his injuries. His family decided to remove him from life support Saturday evening, and police said he died later that night. The department released his identity with his family’s consent.
The teenager’s death changed the criminal case against Patel. He was initially arrested on allegations of aggravated battery and leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury. A judge later set bond at $40,000 on those charges. After Russey died, investigators obtained another arrest warrant, and Patel was taken into custody again Sunday morning on a second-degree murder charge. Police said he was being held without bond at the Brevard County Jail.
Authorities have not publicly established that Russey was the person responsible for the reported break-in that triggered the initial police response. West Melbourne police told WESH on Sunday that they could not say with certainty that Russey was the person who attempted to enter the store. The distinction leaves the reported burglary and the later collision as related parts of the investigation without establishing that the teenager committed the earlier act.
The allegations against Patel remain accusations and have not been proven in court. Police said they will continue gathering evidence for prosecutors as the criminal case proceeds. Patel was expected to appear before a judge Monday on the second-degree murder charge.
Author note: Last updated October 19, 2026.