On Tuesday night a deadly Mesa bike accident claimed the life of 11-year-old girl, according to azfamily.com. The accident took place around 6 PM at the intersection of Brown Road and Lindsay Road.
A 16-year-old driver of the pickup truck was reportedly passing a vehicle in front of him, and he failed to observe the bicyclist and struck her. The 11-year-old victim was out for bicycle ride with her family at the time of the accident. The name of the girl has not been released.
The Mesa Police Department is handling the accident investigation. No charges have yet been filed, and it appears that drugs or alcohol did not play a role in the accident.
As the weather cools off in the Phoenix area, more and more bicyclists will be on the streets. Arizona drivers have to diligently lookout for bikes on the roadway, especially children.
ADOT reports that in the year 2008 there were nearly 2000 bicycle accidents in our state. In those accidents,113 children between the ages of 10 – 14 were injured, and two were killed. Statistics for 2009 have not yet been released.