I can't believe this crap! Saturday night i was going to blockbuster to return some movies. It just got done pouring rain so the streets are wet, i am at the light (right lane) on a 4 lane road with a median. On the other side of the road i notice a person on a bike riding, but nothing out of the ordinary. My light turns green but as i look back this big 4X4 is hauling *** in the left lane. I take off normal then i see the taillights of the 4x4 come on and the truck dip hard , again nothing oout of the ordinary, mayber the guy got spooked that he saw a cop, i am already doing 20 mph and steadily gaining speed. As the truck dips hard, low and behold this kid on his bike pulled out in front of the truck which caused the truck to dip the kid barely missed the truck tires and now the kid is facing me directly in my lane looking at me like a dear in the headlights! I lock them up , and slide, the kid turns left , my right , i steer left and my front bumper clipped his back tire which caused him to fly off and roll in the air, i looked in my rear view and the kid was rolling on the ground and layed there . I got scared and i pulled over .The 4x4 was gone! I got out and ran to the poor kid, he got up and was cursing sbout his bike and himself. I asked was he alright and he was fine he said, he was more worried about his new bike then himself. The guy from the gas station came out and saw the whole thing , and asked the kid why didn't he wait to cross. He would of been dead if that 4X4 hit him he said.

The kid was looking down and said,"i know i should have waited to cross". The kid suffered minor road rash on his arms and right elbow, but he was fine for the most part. I felt bad for hitting him so i gave him $30 dollars to get a new back rim. He was greatful and his eyes lit up with joy and said thanks mister. The witness said he would call the cops but really it was the kids fault and nobody is hurt or dead. I asked the kid if he wanted a ride home but , he said he rather walk.

We parted ways and i was walking back to my car with a sickening feeling growing in my stomach, because i know my front end had some sort of damage to it. Just as i suspected , i ended up with a light creese mark in my bumper from the kids tire and his spokes caused a wolverine scratch marks on the right of my fog lights onto my right front fender. I was expecting worse, some touch up paint will do the trick though.

I am just glad the situation didn't turn out worse with the kid being dead upon my hands. I couldn't have lived with that guilt, i was shaken up from the accident though , i never had hit a pedstrian before in my life and i have a friend who is not right still from hitting one and killing one 11 years ago , even though it was not his fault.

For now on i a going to be looking extra careful at people riding bikes because they can be so unpredictable.

 

I know exactly how you feel man. I hit a 14 year old Greek boy when I was stationed in Greece. I thought that he was dead after he was thrown from his bike. I had flashbacks for several days. He was in a coma for a couple of weeks but he came out fine. I felt like crap even though the kid cut across the highway directly into my path. I'm glad the kid was okay in your case.

 

yeah. gotta love kids ....the ones at the end of my street make it a game.. one of their driveways is a hill w/cars parked in it and outside of it on the street. and they just make it a game when cars come by and appear out of nowhere from behind a car as you drive by.

 

Yeah, this accident got me parranoid ,every time i see a person riding a bike on the road, who knows wether they will turn into traffic or not. Everything happend so quick too! I was thinking to myself the rest of the weekend if i could have done anything better, but i couldn't find anything. I wasn't speeding , i wasn't wreckless, i tried to avoid hitting him but my bumper clipped him. It was just one of those unavoidable occurences.....

 

Sorry to hear that.

 

lol.... thas messed up

 

It could have been worse glad that everything is ok.. Just be glad that you dont have a lawsuit on your hands..

 

man get some kind of paper signed by the witness of what happened. You never know when something can come back to hunt you. You made a mistake by giving the kid money, it will look that you were buying him off. If someone took your tag, just to F*** you off, then you might hopefully not, a problem. I wish you the best and pray to God that nothing happened.

Get a paper signed from the witness in case something happened.

Take care.

 

Get contact information from the wittnesses and a brief but detailed description of what they saw. A few days down the road their memory can and probably will change. I know it seemed like the right thing to do at the time (giving him money), but if this ever went to court it could be viewed as you admitting fault. If the kid took your name or plate etc. I recommend a consultation with a lawyer. I would do that regardless. I'm not sure where you live, but not calling the police could be considered leaving the scene as well. A lawyer would ask if you left or contacted police. You can generally get free advice. It may also be worth your time to get an estimate on your car (regardless of how minor), and if you get it fixed keep the reciept. Again, if it ever came to court and he was found at fault you could get payment for the repairs if you choosed to do so. I would not be worried about that as you are probably not. As long as there were no serious injuries.

Good luck dude. That really stinks. This can happen regardless of how good a driver you are.

Hopefully he is OK, and you'll here nothing from it...

 

Exactly

 

Very prudent advice!!!!!

 

How is this at all funny?

 

I definatly think you should have reported it to your local authorities. This kid could have taken down your plate number, and a month down the road file a law suit against you.

 

30bucks to a little kid is hitting the lottery... he probly coulda have broken limbs & still be happy w/ the $30. i wouldnt worry law suits. just be greatful that the kid is ok.

 

Thank you all for your advice.... I talked to the guy in the store and he said he will testify if need be , if ever the case came up in court, but like he said he highly doubts it.

That night the kid walked home in the opposite direction, but he seemed happy that he recieved some compensation for his bent rim and tire.

My car was parked in front of another car about 20-25 feet away , so i doubt if anybody got my license plate number. I wasn't trying to cover up , but that road i was on was pretty busy so that was the only safe place to park.

I am not to worried about the situation , the kid was fine he moved all his limbs, and was walking like nothing ever happened, so i know he will be alright, he may be sore like a mother as we speak, but it could have been alot worse. Hopefully he is thankful he didn't get blasted by that 4x4, or else he really would of been in some serious pain if not dead!

 

It's better to hit kids in other countries... I got hit by a mercedes when I was 11. I sued that sack-o-schit for 2g's

 

It's good that the store owner backs up your story. Best of luck to you...

Hey "FormorAccordMan" I don't read anywhere that there was fun being made of the situation... ? Where the hel* do you get that impression?

 

Read the quote above my reply. LOL means laugh out loud

 

"Lots of Luck"... "Lots of luck" is what he is saying.... Geez....

 

If you were in Tennessee and you ran over him, you could have taken him home to eat him. Seriously... being a person whos been hit before, I can tell that you are a kind person at heart giving the kid the money even though the kid was retarded for not waiting... The guy/girl who hit me kept on going while I lay on the street....

 

Yeah for real.. You gotta be able to laugh these things off sometimes or youll be paranoid as *** the next time you see a kid on a bike..

 

I can't say that it's ever better one way or the other. You would feel the same if you hit a kid. If I had killed the kid, I would not have been sued, they would have sued the American Embassy. I would not even have to go to jail because of my status there. I felt like crap for several days until I found out that the boy came out of his coma.

 

Don't sweat it Rafe. I was on the other end of this story once. In college I was riding my mt bike to class down college hill. A van passed me (I was going ~ 20) then he slowed down and about the time I was right beside him he decided to pull over and parallel park. I hit the brakes so hard it flat spotted the tire. I ended up sliding down the road face first. I had a severe sprain, major road rash, and a whole in my head that had to be treated by a plastic surgeon. The big difference here was it was the driver's fault. No matter how you look at your situation it was NOT your fault.

BTW, I get paranoid too.... riding a bike on the road

 

Sorry to hear that. Good everything's fine.

 

My bad 123456789

 

Its ironic that I see this post...I was the passenger in a car that was involved in a similar incident...the Kid cut out in front of a city bus which was allow traffic to pass on its left side. Needless to say that the kid rolled off the hood, and all the witnesses were going to leave him in the middle of the street during rush hour.

I moved him to the side and called 911, the ambulance came to get him. Since my sister was driving, she was shook so I drove her to the hospital where the kid went (she's also a nurse) Its been about 6 months, and we haven't heard anything. We contacted the insurance company and lawyers, just in case, but I don't think there will be any legal action, he was fine. But that is one of the scariest things I've ever been involved in...and I've been in a major accident, where my max was totalled, but GLAD to hear its all right.

U can't guess what PED morons will do...they think they are freaking invincible....they need to talk to Michael Jackson, whatever you do....catches up to you!

 

I was a passenger of a hit also. I was in a 300zx and we were taking a turn pretty fast and all sudden i hear brakes i looked up i see a girl on the windshield. We were shocked as of what happened. The driver was a little too fast and the girl was J walking. She ended up with both broken legs and she got a ticket for J walking. The guy who hit her didnt end up with any thing.