Every mother’s worst nightmare almost came true in Rohnert Park last night, when a 10-wheeled Peterbilt dump truck rolled over a 6-year old riding his bike in a crosswalk.
The boy escaped major injury or even death, though his helmet was split in two and smashed by the truck’s rear tires.
According to the police report issued by the Rohnert Park Dept. of Public Safety, the six-year-old was riding across the crosswalk on Rohnert Park Expressway at State Farm Dr. with his mother following closely behind.
As he got in front of the large truck, the light turned green for the driver of the truck. Based on the location of the boy the driver of the truck could not see him and began to proceed.
According to witnesses, the boy was hit by the front bumper and he and his bike were sucked underneath the truck. The truck made a left turn while the boy was thrashing around underneath.
The child ended up tumbling out from under the right fuel tank area and landed clear of the rear dual tires.
A witness had to flag down the driver of the truck as he had no clue to what had happened. The driver immediately stopped the truck and returned to the scene.
The boy was scooped up by his mother and ultimately transported to memorial hospital by ambulance. He suffered some superficial scratches on his arms and is being treated for those currently.
“Regardless of who was at fault, this little fellow and his mother are okay and that is what is important. Both for her, him and the driver of the truck,” said Sgt. Aaron Johnson from the Rohnert Park Traffic Team.
Preliminary investigation results indicate the mother and boy should not have been in the crosswalk; however, the traffic team is looking into more witness interviews as well as scene data.
“Bicycles must follow the rules of the road” said Sgt. Johnson. “Drivers do not expect bicycles to be coming from the right; therefore, we want to remind them [bicycles] to use the right hand portion of the roadway.
“Although as a child, he should have been off of the bike and walking it across the street.”
In addition to traffic safety operations conducted by Public Safety using funds from the Office of Traffic Safety, Sgt. Johnson says they are going to ramp up the bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement.
