Update, Aug. 12: Authorities have ruled that the accident was due to a right-of-way violation caused by the cyclist. Said Officer Jennifer Coats, Berkeley Police spokeswoman, the boy rode his bicycle off the sidewalk and into traffic in the roadway, where he was struck immediately by an oncoming vehicle.
Update, June 25: According to the Berkeley Police Department, the young cyclist has been released from hospital and is home recovering.
Update, June 17: Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats said the boy remains in the hospital. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Original story, June 16: A 7-year-old boy sustained serious injuries after being involved in a traffic accident on Bancroft Way at Acton Street in West Berkeley.
Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats said the department received a call at 4:03 p.m. about an incident involving a car and bicyclist.
“The bicyclist is a 7-year-old boy with serious injuries,” she said. “He was transported to a local hospital by the Berkeley Fire Department.”
On the scene, Berkeleyside’s Frances Dinkelspiel said the boy’s bicycle was pinned under a blue Saturn SUV in the middle of Bancroft Way, close to the Berkeley Lawn Bowling Green.
The driver of the car involved in the collision was on the scene and being cooperative.
A police officer on the scene said he was optimistic the child would be OK.
Coats said: “He’s in serious condition, but stable condition.”
The Berkeley Police Department’s Fatal Accident Investigation Team, which looks into serious accidents as well as fatal ones, has been called in to investigate the collision.
This story was updated as more information became available.
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