Sometimes you just want to scream.
A 12-year old Oceanside boy is dead, evidently because a driver neglected to look both ways before pulling out of a driveway.
According to multiple sources, the victim apparently struck the side of the driver’s pickup as he pulled out of an RV park driveway at 1510 South Coast Highway at 7:03 this morning.
The Seaside Courier reports the driver was turning left onto the Coast Highway when he heard a thump on the side of his truck. He made a U-turn into another driveway, and got out to find the victim lodged under his rear tire.
The boy’s bike was lying nearby, as other drivers helped guide the truck off of him, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. He was flown to Tri-City Hospital, but died a few minutes later.
Despite a lack of witnesses, police suspect the victim was riding against traffic in the bike lane, while on his way to a nearby school.
However, even if he had been riding the wrong way, he should have been clearly visible unless the driver neglected to look to his right as he prepared to pull into the center turn lane.
It’s also possible that the boy would have survived if the driver had simply stopped when he heard the thump, which was most likely the sound of his bike hitting the side of the truck.
A 12-year old boy is unlikely to have been riding fast enough to suffer significant, let alone life threatening, injuries by colliding with the side of the pickup. It’s probable that the fatal injuries were caused when the driver made his U-turn with the boy trapped underneath.
This is the 63rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in San Diego County.
Update: The victim has been identified as Logan Lipton, a champion surfer who loved skateboarding and frequently rode to school.
Tragically, though, his uncle says he was unusually apprehensive about going to school his bike on Thursday.
Update 2: A comment below from Barbara says the driver is a bicyclist himself, and is very torn up about this, which is only natural.
She also says that he didn’t see Logan on his bike because the sun was just beginning to rise.
However, even at that early hour, there should still be enough light to see. And the sun could not have been in the driver’s eyes because the street runs north and south, and he would have been facing west.
We can sympathize with the driver; something like this must be devastating to live with. But it’s far worse for Logan’s parents, family and friends.
It’s entirely possible that Logan may bear some responsibility for what happened if it can be shown that he really was riding against traffic. And he would have been more visible with a light at that early hour, if he didn’t have one on his bike.
But let’s not forget that cars are big, dangerous machines, and it only takes a momentary lapse in attention to have life altering consequences.
Update 3: A gofundme account has been started to help the family pay for funeral expenses; Logan’s father is a Carlsbad police officer.
He was honored by his fellow surfers with a paddle out on Sunday.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Logan Lipton and all his family and friends.
Our prayers go up for the family and friends of the young victim.
Just so you know, the driver was also a bicyclist…
I’ve know him for over a decade. The sun is barely just starting to rise that time of day, he just didn’t see the kid.
He is so torn up about this horrible accident. He used to be a youth soccer coach, and he was also a band dad.
He will never be the same.
The tone of your post is really quite rude. You are making up details that don’t exist.
This is a horrible tragedy for everyone involved.
Rest in peace, little one.
Barbara, the tone of this piece is that a kid on a bicycle died needlessly. While I’m sympathetic to the pain the driver must feel, I have a hell of a lot more sympathy for the pain that Logan’s parents, family and friends must be feeling right now.
Your friend is not the victim here. An innocent 12-year old boy is.
If you can show me anything in this piece that is not correct, I will be happy to change it.
I will first say that I apologize. I was still defensive after reading other comments on other sites when I first typed this. I was trying to be level headed, and I’m sorry.
Now, I wasn’t trying to say that the Logan isn’t the victim here. He most definitely is.
I was just trying to put out the other information.
According to timeanddate.com the sunrise in Oceanside was at 6:59 yesterday, and the accident occurred at 7:03. So that’s where I got the whole sun was barely up thing.
From the post, when he pulled out of the driveway, the driver was facing southwest. And the boy would have been coming from his right. The boy was coming from the northwest. The sun rises from the east, or almost to his back: it shouldn’t have blinded the driver. Something doesn’t sound right. Maybe something was missing or incorrect. A brick wall or railroad crossing at the exits might have blocked the view of the boy. Condolences.
I wasn’t saying that the sun blinded him, I meant to say that it was probably still dim out… Which might have had a factor in this tragedy.
California Vehicle Code 21650.1
A bicycle operated on a roadway, or the shoulder of a highway, shall be operated in the same direction as vehicles are required to be driven upon the roadway
Thanks for that, Auggie. I’m sure everyone here can do with a reminder of the most basic of American, let alone California, bicycling laws.
As was noted in the the story, police suspect — key word, suspect — that the victim was riding against traffic, which we all know is illegal and dangerous. Although it is also possible that he was riding on the sidewalk, in which case direction of travel is irrelevant.
However, it is also incumbent upon the driver to look in both directions before pulling out of a driveway. For whatever reason, he appears to have failed to see a 12-year old boy just feet away from his truck.