Boy on bicycle suffers life-threatening injuries after being hit by vehicle in northwest Gainesville
A 13-year-old boy was hit by a vehicle while riding a bicycle on Wednesday evening in northwest Gainesville, according to the Gainesville Police Department.
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GPD spokesman David Chudzik said the boy was traveling west on Northwest 44th Avenue when he was hit while entering the roadway of Northwest 13th Street at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday. The driver of the vehicle told police that she was traveling north in the outside lane and was unable to break in time as she saw the front wheel of boy's bicycle enter the roadway.
The boy suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to UF Health Shands on trauma alert.
The investigation into the crash is currently ongoing. Chudzik said at 8 p.m. Thursday that the boy was in critical but stable condition.
The department has reported at least three fatalities so far in January where pedestrians or bicyclists have been killed by a moving vehicle. Alachua County and Gainesville officials this week deemed the issue to be a local ”crisis” and cowed to use additional resources and funds to prevent future tragedies from occuring.
Data provided by the city shows around seven pedestrians and bicyclists die annually after being hit by a vehicle.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Teen boy on bicycle hit by car in Gainesville, transported to UF Health
