FALL RIVER — A man who hit and dragged a police officer on an ATV while attempting to flee a traffic stop last year has been convicted of multiple charges, including assault and battery.

Jeremias Cabral, 22, will spend two years in the Bristol County House of Correction after being sentenced on Friday, April 21.

On Nov. 4, 2022, a police officer stopped an ATV near Robeson and Delcar streets, and he was struck and dragged several hundred feet by the vehicle when the driver attempted to flee.

Backup responded and found the officer, a 17-year veteran of the force, lying on the ground and seriously injured. The officer was treated at Rhode Island Hospital and released.

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The Major Crimes Division developed information that identified Cabral as the ATV driver. He was arrested on Dec. 5.

Cabral was convicted of charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury; assault and battery on a police officer; negligent operation of a recreational vehicle causing serious bodily injury; and operating a recreational vehicle on a public way.

The crackdown on illegal ATV and dirt bike use continues in Fall River

Fall River police in recent years have attempted to crack down on all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes being driven unsafely and illegally on city streets, including handing out citations and using drone cameras to identify drivers.

In 2016, Rafael Cordeiro, 19, was killed after riding a dirt bike with no headlamps at 2 a.m. and crashing into a police cruiser responding to a call, at Slade and Montaup streets. In September, a 23-year-old man was seriously hurt when he smashed his illegal Kawasaki dirt bike into a car being driven by an 89-year-old man at President Avenue and Robeson Street; witnesses reportedly told police that the rider had been speeding, weaving in and out of traffic and performing “wheelies.”

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The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has also issued warnings to ATV and dirt bike riders that it is illegal to use the railroad right of way as a riding path.

According to state law, recreational vehicles must be registered with the state Environmental Police, and they are only allowed on public ways that allow recreational vehicle use. Locally, dirt bikes are allowed on certain tracks in the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve; ATVs are not.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River police officer hit, dragged in ATV stop; driver jailed