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Date Posted / Updated: Home Press Release Index
RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Sheriff Stanley Sniff
Temecula Police Department
PRESS RELEASE
Date/Time Written: January 5, 2010, 8:00 p.m. Type of Incident: Injury Traffic Collision Date/Time of Incident: January 5, 2010. 4:48 p.m. Location(s) of Incident: Campanula Way and Semena Street, Temecula Reporting Officer: Lieutenant Charles Wilhite File Number: TE090050139 Details:
On January 5, 2010, about 4:48 p.m., officers from the Temecula Police Department responded to a traffic collision involving a bicyclist at Campanula Way and Semena Street, Temecula. The bicyclist was treated at the scene by paramedics from the Riverside County Fire Department and transported to the trauma center at Inland Valley Regional Medical Center by American Medical Response ambulance. The victim, an 8-year-old Temecula boy, was treated for minor to moderate injuries. Investigators determined that he was wearing a bicycle safety helmet, and although it suffered serious damage, his head did not.
The investigation revealed that the bicyclist and another boy were riding their bicycles northbound across Campanula way when he was struck by a Chevrolet pick-up that was traveling westbound on Campanula. The driver of the pick-up, a 33-year-old woman from Temecula, was not injured. The damaged bicycle was dragged under the pick-up for about 50 feet following the collision.
Based on the damage to the bicycle and the helmet, it is reasonable to conclude that the injuries in this collision would have been more severe had the boy not been riding with a bicycle safety helmet. SafeKids USA reports that riding without a bicycle helmet significantly increases the risk of sustaining a head injury in the event of a crash. Non-helmeted riders are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than helmeted riders.
Anyone with information concerning this collision is asked to contact Officer Scott Burns at the Temecula Police Department Traffic Bureau, (951) 696-3000.
Further information concerning bicycle helmet safety statistics is available at Safekids.org (http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?folder_id=540&content_item_id=1010)
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