13-year-old dies at 100-mph illegal race, Florida cops say. Now, boy’s dad is charged

An unusual father-and-son outing to watch an illegal street race in Florida took a tragic turn when the son was run over by one of the racing motorcycles, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.

The boy died in the crash and it’s his father who faces a felony charge, police said in a Feb. 9 news release.

“Investigators confirmed that Saturday night (January 28th), a crowd had gathered ... for illegal street racing. Johnny Julio Martin brought his 13-year-old son, Ethan Julio Martin, to the event,” police said.

“At 12:35 a.m. (on Jan. 29), the teen crossed 28th Street into the path of a motorcycle traveling in excess of 100 m.p.h. The motorcycle struck and killed Ethan and also injured a bystander.”

Johnny Julio Martin, 35, was arrested Feb. 8 on charges of felony child neglect (involving a death) and being a spectator at a street race, police said. He lives in nearby Tampa.

Investigators have not released details involving the motorcycle driver, but the investigation continues and “additional arrests are pending.”

The crash happened at the intersection of 28th Street North near 110th Avenue North, a largely industrial area in north St. Petersburg.

Ethan Martin lived in Tampa and was an eighth grader at Endeavor Academy, according to an obituary.

“Ethan was always an energetic boy, who loved being outdoors in nature or at the beach. His favorite activity was fishing with his family,” the obituary says. “He made an instant impact on everyone who met him.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 12:16 PM with the headline "13-year-old dies at 100-mph illegal race, Florida cops say. Now, boy’s dad is charged."