Police: Child on bicycle is struck by truck
El Centro Police said a child is in the hospital after he was struck by a truck at Orange and 8 th Street near two schools just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
Eyewitness Margaret Garcia said, “A boy got hit on a bike. He was going to school. And I guess the girl that hit him, she didn’t see or she wasn’t paying attention to what she was doing.”
Garcia said she saw gym clothing scattered in the middle of the street inside the crosswalk.
“What I saw was his bike on the floor and I saw his clothes. He looked like he had a backpack with him. I wasn’t really sure. But, from where I was driving and how I saw it, his clothes were on the floor, they were scattered on the floor,” Garcia said.
She saw a woman next to a vehicle with a large dent in the front on the driver’s side.
“She was gesturing to the cop. She was making hand signals and she was pointing where the boy when she hit him. She looked very scared and she looked like she was panicking,” Garcia said.
The boy’s family came out looking for him.
“I guess the little boy didn’t live that far because the mother came running out in the street. She ran into the middle of the street. And she was asking the paramedics what had happened,” Garcia said.
The eyewitness said it’s a busy intersection full of kids going to school at that time of the morning. She’s concerned for them.
“A year ago, I lost my mother almost the same way. My mom got hit. Unfortunately, she died. And it brought back memories. I had a flashback. I had to pull over because I was balling. I was crying. I couldn’t stop crying. It just brought back too many memories,” Garcia said.
Garcia’s 8-year-old daughter, Evelyn, wants people to be more careful on the streets.
“If people hit little kids, then you have to watch out for the little kids,” Evelyn said.
Police said the injured child was flown out for emergency medical attention to an undisclosed hospital.
They said the injuries do not seem life-threatening at this time. The collision is under investigation.
