14-year-old boy hit by car in Green Cove Springs

Sean Chillingworth recovering after being struck

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – Family members of 14-year-old Sean Chillingworth said he's recovering after he was hit by a vehicle on Pine Avenue and Houston Street in Green Cove Springs on Friday afternoon.

According to the Green Cove Springs Police Department, Chillingworth was riding his bicycle eastbound just before 4 p.m. Friday when he tried to cross between cars and didn't see another vehicle coming from the other direction.

"He went in between two vehicles that were stopped and the car that was going westbound struck him as he was trying to cross," said Sgt. Joseph Buchanan.

Clay County Fire Rescue officials said Chillingworth had leg injuries, but was conscious and alert. He was taken to UF Health in Jacksonville.

Tom Fow, Chillingworth's grandfather, said the news about his grandson's accident stunned him.

"I didn't know anything about it until my other grandson, who works at McDonalds, told me Sean was hit by a car," said Fow. "That's the first thing I heard about it."

Fow said Sean received a dozen stitches and is expected to be OK.

This comes just a day after 14-year-old Gianna Asencio, a Clay County student, was hit and killed Thursday morning while waiting to catch the school bus in Fleming Island.

Buchanan said particularly in light of Thursday's fatal accident, Chillingworth's case was a hard one for emergency personnel to pull up on.

"The drivers were shaken up, officers on scene shaken up and firemen and paramedics were shaken up," said Buchanan. "It's never good when you roll up on a scene and see a child of any age laying on the ground."

Both cases have been ruled accidental.

Officers said the driver that hit Chillingworth stopped and cooperated with police. The driver will not be cited in the crash.


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Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.