A high school student riding a bicycle he had gotten just hours earlier was hurt Monday night when he crashed his new bike into a car in Oceanside, officials confirmed.
The Oceanside Police Department (OPD) said accident happened around 9:40 p.m. near an apartment complex at 210 Rancho Del Oro. The 17-year-old was riding fast down a steep hill when he collided with a driver who was in the process of parking, OPD Lt. Matt Cole said.
The teen suffered unspecified but non-life threatening injuries in the crash. As a precaution – and due to his age – police said the teen was airlifted from the scene to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
The victim’s brother-in-law, Victor Perez, told NBC 7 the teenager had gotten the brand-new bike earlier in the day and was riding it around near his home.
Perez, who lives just two miles away from the site of the crash, said he and his wife got a phone call about the accident and rushed over.
He said an officer told him the teen was riding down a hill and tried to make a sharp right just as a truck was trying to park in the area. The teen was riding so fast, he couldn’t avoid ramming into the vehicle.
Perez said he went through the back windshield of the truck and suffered a head injury. As of Tuesday morning, the teen’s condition was unknown.
Local
Perez said the victim is a senior who’s about to graduate from a nearby high school.
“He’s a good kid. He goes to school, listens to his parents, he goes to church a lot. Nice, young kid,” he explained. “We’re hoping for the best – praying. Hopefully he gets better and comes home.”
Perez said these are trying times for his family and an example of how, in his words, “you never know what could happen.”
The incident is under investigation. No one else was injured in the crash.
