Below is the statement released by the Vancouver Police Department last night. For more coverage, read this story in the Columbian.
(emphasis mine)
Posted: January 21st, 2009 8:30 PM
At approximately 2:35pm today, Vancouver Police were dispatched to an injury collision involving a bicyclist and a vehicle on SE 136th Avenue at SE 7th Street. When officers arrived, they found a teenage bicyclist had been struck by a vehicle in the intersection.
Kristopher Miles, 13 years of age from Vancouver, was riding his bicycle northbound in the crosswalk on the west side of SE 136th Avenue at SE 7th Street. A westbound SUV driven by Andrea Dickinson, 28 years of age from Vancouver, struck Miles on his bicycle in the crosswalk. Miles and his bicycle were pushed more than 100 feet west of the intersection to a final rest location on SE 7th Street. Miles suffered critical head, shoulder, and leg injuries and was initially transported to Southwest Washington Medical Center for treatment before being transported by Life Flight air ambulance to Emanuel Hospital for continued medical treatment. Dickinson’s vehicle had stopped at the posted stop sign on the east side of the intersection before entering and crossing the intersection. Miles was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision.
The crash is still under investigation by Vancouver Police Traffic collision investigators. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Vancouver Police, #360-487-7400 for Officer Brewster.
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For more information, please see the thread in the forum:
http://bikeportland.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2718&page=2
For those of you who are wondering, I have checked with friends of his, and he is in critical condition, having just undergone yet another surgery to relieve swelling of his brain.
I’ve been nearly run over much more often as a pedestrian in the last 2 years. Why? Cell phones and text messaging by drivers!!
The kid was in a crosswalk! Cars should stop for anything in or approaching a crosswalk.
We need our lawmakers in Salem to create a law that states that authorities have the right to full inquiry into all electronic transmissions prior to the accident. Was she texting, dialing, holding a phone, or interacting with her GPS? Until that law happens someone can use some extra effort and existing laws to get cell records today. Anyone between 15 and 30 has a cell phone.
RCW 46.61.755 (WASHINGTON STATE)
Traffic laws apply to persons riding bicycles.
(1) Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter, except as to special regulations in RCW 46.61.750 through 46.61.780 and except as to those provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.
(2) Every person riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk or crosswalk must be granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to a pedestrian by this chapter
RCW 46.61.235
Crosswalks.
(1) The operator of an approaching vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian or bicycle to cross the roadway within an unmarked or marked crosswalk when the pedestrian or bicycle is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For purposes of this section “half of the roadway” means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel, and includes the entire width of a one-way roadway.
(2) No pedestrian or bicycle shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk, run, or otherwise move into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to stop.
(3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply under the conditions stated in RCW 46.61.240(2).
(4) Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian or bicycle to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.
More about WA bike laws:
http://www.bicyclealliance.org/safety/index.html
How do they know she came to a complete stop at the stop sign?
#4 – this bit of information likely was drawn from a post crash interview with the driver but not the bicyclist.
[This is very common with driver crashes…as the pedestrian or bicyclist is often unable to provide effective information to the contrary.]
Unless other information comes from a witness, camera, or vehicle black box.