FeedsYoung bicyclists hurt in Westland traffic accident
Two Westland students are in serious condition after they were struck by a car as they crossed Cherry Hill Road Thursday night.
Westland police said the two children remain hospitalized after a 43-year-old Canton woman in a red Pontiac Grand AM hit them after she allegedly ran a red light.
According to Ofc. Jack McIntosh of the Westland Police Department, a John Glenn High School junior and a Madison Elementary School fifth grader were crossing southbound across Cherry Hill Road at Carlson Road at about 5:50 p.m. on Thursday.
The driver—whose name has not been released—was headed westbound on Cherry Hill Road when she ran into them.
“She failed to stop for the red light,” McIntosh said.
The woman, who otherwise had a good driving record, told police that she had had the sun in her eyes at the time and went through the light because she thought was green, McIntosh said. Police have two independent witnesses who corroborated what happened. They told police that the woman never slowed down prior to the accident.
“She never even saw the kids,” said McIntosh.
She was not speeding and neither alcohol nor drugs was a factor, he added.
The girls were inside the crosswalk and crossing in accordance with the light, he said. They were riding on the same bicycle—the teen pedaled and the younger child stood on pegs built into the front. A 13-year-old boy who had been crossing the street alongside the girls on a separate bicycle wasn’t injured.
After the crash, the fifth grader was taken directly to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak for treatment. A Westland rescue unit took the teen to Annapolis Hospital in Wayne.
“They are in serious but stable condition,” McIntosh said Friday.
Consequences for the driver are pending, based on the condition of the girls. At a minimum, the driver is expected to face penalties for running the red light.
Residents are urged to show greater care in obeying traffic signals to ward off similar incidents in the future. Children are should also be discouraged from riding two to a bike for safety reasons, McIntosh said.
