Teen on bike suffers serious injuries after crash with car

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — A teen is in the hospital with serious injuries after he was hit by a car while riding a bike.

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department tweeted at 8:39 a.m. Friday a car hit a bicycle along Mayport Road and Pioneer Drive.

When Action News Jax arrived on scene, we saw a woman distraught on the ground. A witness identified that woman as the person who was driving, and says a boy darted in front of her and she hit him.

Action News Jax has requested the crash report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for further details, but a source tells us the boy is 13 years old. JFRD couldn’t confirm the boy’s condition due to HIPAA privacy law, but the witness says bystanders pulled the teen out and even though he was scratched up, it looked like he would be OK.

Nearby, Seaside Community Charter School is a two minute walk. But nowadays, not many kids walk or bike to school. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study from 2014 found 10% or fewer students walked or biked to school on an average school morning, and concerns over traffic safety play a role. In this case, it’s unclear if the boy was heading to school or if speed was a factor.

The intersection where the crash happened is in the middle of two school zones, and there’s a movement underway to make these areas less crash-prone. It’s called National Walk and Bike to School Day, which is happening on October 6.

You can plan an event locally at your kids school to promote safe walking and bicycling. You only need a week to plan and you can find steps on how to register here: http://www.walkbiketoschool.org/

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