Miami Standard (Detroit, MI) – A 15-year-old and his parents have been charged in the death of an 87-year-old man who was struck by a boy on a dirt bike.

It occurred at dusk on March 1 in Presque Isle County. A Michigan State Police trooper purportedly witnessed the incident.

According to officials, an 87-year-old man wearing a flash light was crossing the road to check his mail when he was hit by a juvenile on a dirt bike without a headlight.

He was flown to the hospital and died four days later.

The teenager was unharmed. T,, manslaughter with a motor vehicle, reckless driving causing death, moving violation resulting in death, and reckless driving.

“The charges that you initially file are not necessarily the charges that the juvenile will end up with. You never know where the case will end up taking you,” said Prosecutor Zakary McLennan. “Charges might be dismissed, or new charges could potentially be added.”

The parents were charged with permitting a child under 16 to drive an off-road vehicle. It is prohibited for anyone under the age of 16 to operate an off-road vehicle without supervision.

“We are going to balance accountability with rehabilitation of the juvenile,” McLennan said. “There’s a lot of information and factors that play into that calculus, and we’re very thoughtfully and carefully considering all the information available to us now, and all the information that is still forthcoming.”

The mother was handed a $2,000 bond, while the father received a $3,500 bond. They are scheduled back in court on April 1.

“This is a tragic situation we’re dealing with,” said Michigan State Police Lt. Ashley Miller. “Not only with the elderly man that has passed, but also with a juvenile that has their whole life ahead of them, and now we have to move forward with this.”

Reference: Why the parents were also charged in dirt bike death of 87-year-old Michigan man