[UPDATE 10:40 p.m.] 14-Year-Old on Bike Injured Near Blue Lake
Stock photo by Oliver Cory
At about 7:46 p.m., an individual on a bike was injured on the bridge over the Mad River on Hatchery Road south of Blue Lake, according to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page. The first reports are that a vehicle may have hit the 14-Year-old victim and fled the scene. However, that has not been confirmed.
An ambulance was dispatched to the scene, where first responders attended to the victim before transporting the youth to a nearby hospital. The condition of the individual is currently unknown.
First responders have put in place a hard closure of Hatchery Road in both directions at the bridge as they investigate the situation. Motorists are advised to seek alternative routes as there is no estimated time of reopening.
Our hearts are with the injured. May they recover as swiftly as possible.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
UPDATE 10:40 p.m.: According to source, the bicyclist was not wearing a helmet and did not have lights. The driver did not see the bicyclist and hit them, destroying the bike. They did not flee the scene. “The kid was banged up but will be OK,” the source told us.
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The driver was in the whole other lane then the biker the ran into the driver there is a witness of the whole thing so in this case it’s the bikers fault
Parenting fail. I see so many youth/teens out on bikes in dark clothing, w/shitty footwear, no bike gloves, and most egregious, no helmet? Reminder, you are responsible for the behaviors, and safety of your offspring until they are 18!
…. Low IQ DNA removing itself from the gene pool I guess….
What a cruel and careless thing to say. The kid made a mistake and learned a lesson that didn’t cost him his life to get. Instead of insulting him and his parents, can’t we just be glad that he’s going to be alright?
Bike gloves! Gotta get me some bike gloves! That’ll save me!
If someone needs to explain why a PARENT should make sure their kid wears protective gear including bike gloves and helmet I can’t help you.
Bike GLOVES!? How many people (%) wear bike gloves?
It’s hard not to put you hand out when you’re falling and road rash can take awhile to heal. I don’t ride my bike without gloves, Much more importantly, I see a lot of young people riding with helmets unbuckled. Might as well leave it at home if you don’t buckle it! Ride safe! Buckle up!
I do; I’ve gotten enough road rash to not want it on my hands (not to mention all my weight on my palms and fingers on pavement while moving can do damage).
Helmet yes, bike gloves? yes you aren’t too much help!
You are actually going to have to explain why wearing gloves protects cyclists from cars. Please, I want to hear your explanation.
It doesn’t ‘protect them from cars’. Gloves do though, provide some protection to the palms of the hands, which are often the first place of contact in a fall, which can happen in many ways, especially with gravel on the roads around here. I used them a lot when I was being regularly. It made a big difference, trust me.
Come visit McTwitleyville. Kids everywhere on Bikes and at the skate park no helmets to be seen.
In California, children are required to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle or while riding as a passenger on the back of a bicycle. In fact, our San Diego bicycle accident attorney says, California Motor Vehicle Code ß 21212 (a) states:
“A person under 18 years of age shall not operate a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, or a skateboard, nor shall they wear in-line or roller skates, nor ride upon a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, or a skateboard as a passenger, upon a street, bikeway, as defined in Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code, or any other public bicycle path or trail unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that meets the standards of either the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), or standards subsequently established by those entities. This requirement also applies to a person who rides upon a bicycle while in a restraining seat that is attached to the bicycle or in a trailer towed by the bicycle.”
Our duty as parents, caregivers, attorneys, doctors, and others entrusted with the care of children is to keep them as safe as possible and in preventing bicycle injuries to children. Following the law regarding helmet usage while cycling, skating, skateboarding, or rollerblading will go far in protecting our children. As the law states, the helmet your child wears should conform to the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials or the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Be sure the helmet is up to current standards and has the seal from the testing agency, our personal injury lawyer adds. The helmet should snugly fit on your child’s head. There should be no “wiggle room,” and the helmet should sit on the forehead, above the eyes by about one inch.
Why doesn’t Leo start writing tickets?
Nothing like a supporting voice of LOGIC (and legal statute) to pipe down the bleeding heart idiotic lack of common sense. ?
Actually lights are even more important than helmets; you’re most likely to survive the crash you never get into; there’s only so much a foam hat can do against a 6,000 lb. SUV.
Gloves can save your hands; heard of a guy who crashed his bike and destroyed his hands when he reached out to brace himself on asphalt. I hear he eventually got a lot of function back.
Tough kid. Will make a good soldier.
People, please wear a helmet and have good lights on the front and back of your bicycle. Also stay in your lane if one is there, if not, cross the bridge when no vehicles are approaching. Thank you to the driver for moving over a full lane trying to avoid the bicycle. If you had not moved over it might have been a fatality, because they would have taken the full force of your vehicle hitting them.
Don’t forget the all important Bike Gloves!
It’s a pity people fixate on obvious logic to the point of looking ridiculous. ?
Let me spell it out for you: Falling is inevitable; BLOODY HANDS ARE PREVENTABLE. Ever dug gravel out of your kid’s palm, or your own? Do that once and you’re never going to want to do it again. Besides protecting hands in a fall , gloves protect against scrapes if you’re mountain biking, provide a place to wipe your nose (? ) and for little kids, cycling gloves actually offer them a better grip as they’re learning to ride.
Plus, it’s all about the uniform! ?
Dress for success.
https://kidsridebikes.com/bike-gloves-for-kids/
I will admit my gloves are fingerless, but they do have a patch of Kevlar on the palms (Planet Bike, got ’em from Moon Cycles).
Bike gloves can help if you fall while biking, but in this case, I think they would have been useless.
Where was it suggested that bike gloves would have changed this out come ? ? People see what they want to see. The lack of decent footwear, gloves, and helmet were mentioned under the umbrella of PARENTING FAIL. Let’s keep the focus on that. The gloves are not the point, what parent sends their kid out on a bicycle without a helmet??
Dipping out of rhbb comment threads avoids a lot of SMH ing at the obtusity. ?
Next tangent: why flip flops are the best cycling accessory? ?
Please see Elbow and Knee Pads comment above. It did not come from me.
I’m glad they’re okay, and hopefully they take this cheap lesson to heart.