ABERDEEN, S.D. (KELO) — Police say It was Friday night at about 8:30 p.m. when Luis Lambert Pons was driving this black pickup when he ran a red light — hitting two boys on their bikes in the crosswalk. One of the boys escaped injury.

But the other was hospitalized with a broken jaw, broken ribs, and some missing teeth. Court documents said the boy was bleeding from the face.

The officer in charge of the investigation says it could have been worse.

“Based on what we are on what we’ve seen from the vehicle, the damage done to the bike, we are talking split seconds inches where this could have been a different outcome. Fortunately, we are very grateful that’s not the case, said Aberdeen Police Department Sgt. Brad Jung. 

Using security footage they were able to determine the possible year, make, and model of the pick-up involved. They also recovered the driver’s side mirror which had ripped off from the impact. Police looked up registered vehicles that matched the description and made a list.

“We literally took that list, split it up among officers and detectives, put boots on the ground and started going door to door, address to address ,looking to see if this vehicle was there, sure enough one of the detectives came across a vehicle that was parked outside it had damage consistent to what we were looking for,” said Jung.

Police matched the mirror left at the scene to the broken mirror on Pon’s vehicle. It was an exact match. Police spoke with Pons on two occasions and he was arrested after the second.    

In a twist, it appears Pons was on his way to the hospital when he hit the boys.
Court document indicate his newborn baby was seriously ill and was flown to Sioux Falls for emergency treatment that night.

He told police that the drive to the hospital was a blur because he was thinking about his baby.
Pons is currently being held at the Brown County Jail.