12-Year-Old Fatally Struck During Oak Lawn Bicycle Accident
12-year-old Kelly Ryan died on Sunday night after he was hit by a pickup truck on the Southwest Side. Ryan, who was riding his bicycle, had just entered a crosswalk on Narragansett Avenue when a Ford F-250 hit him.
The Cook County bicycle accident occurred at around 8:25 pm. The driver of the vehicle that struck Ryan, 48-year-old driver Keith Kostush, received traffic citations, including one for negligent driving.
Child Bicycle Accidents
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, of the 716 pedalcyclist deaths and 52,000 injuries last year, riders under the age of 16 made up 13% of fatalities and 25% of injuries. 87% of those who died where male. These figures are not surprising, considering that child bicycle injuries is the leading type of kid injury involving recreational sports that results in emergency room visits each year. About 1/3rd of the children hospitalized for their bicycle injuries sustained a traumatic brain injury from the crash.
While bicyclist errors and carelessness is a common cause of Cook County bicycle crashes, there are also many bicycle accidents that occur because a driver was distracted, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, failed to obey traffic signs, lost control of the vehicle, or behaved negligently in otherwise.
Kids are prone to serious injuries in any kind of traffic crash. But for child cyclists who may only have the protection of a helmet to cushion the blow that comes with being hit by a car, a truck, a bus, a motorcycle, or a van, the injuries are often catastrophic if not fatal.
Boy, 12, killed riding bike on Southwest Side, Chicago Breaking News, April 10, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Kids' Bike Injuries Are Major Public Health Concern, Science Daily, October 18, 2007
Bicyclists and Other Cyclists, NHTSA, (PDF)
