Thirteen-year-old with bike killed in vehicle collision on Pacific Ave. in Parkland, troopers say
A 13-year-old boy crossing Pacific Avenue in Parkland on a bicycle was hit and killed by a vehicle Tuesday afternoon, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The boy has not yet been publicly identified.
Trooper Robert Reyer said the cyclist was using a crosswalk with blinking signals near Pacific Avenue and 134th Street South at about 4:04 p.m. when a 27-year-old Lakewood woman driving north in a Jeep Wrangler went through the crosswalk and struck the boy.
“He all of the sudden appeared in front of her car, and she was unable to stop,” Reyer said.
Witnesses reported that the crosswalk signals were activated. It has signals on both sides of the road and at a center island. When collision investigators inspected the scene, the center signal was not working. Reyer said it was unclear whether it worked when the crash occurred.
The cause of the crash was the Jeep driver failing to yield to the bicyclist, according to WSP. Troopers said the driver would not face criminal charges for the deadly crash. The driver also did not receive a ticket.
“Charges would only be forwarded if there was a criminal offense, such as being impaired and killing somebody, or driving in a manner that is, basically, reckless,” Reyer said. “We could completely exclude both. There was no impairment, and there was no reckless driving.”
A car ahead of the Jeep had stopped at the crosswalk before the collision, according to troopers, and witnesses reported that other northbound and southbound traffic had stopped. A trooper who was on the scene told Reyer that it was very likely the driver did not see the bicyclist enter the crosswalk because of the car stopped in front of her.
The roadway was closed for about two-and-a-half hours while crews investigated the incident.
Reyer advised drivers to be very cautious, especially during summer months when more pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycle riders are out and about.
“All of them are rather difficult to see because they are not as big as a car and they are a lot more vulnerable because they don’t have that metal cage around them that protects them a little bit better,” he said.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 6:38 AM with the headline "Thirteen-year-old with bike killed in vehicle collision on Pacific Ave. in Parkland, troopers say."
