By Janene Scully, Noozhawk North County Editor
A boy riding a bike was injured Wednesday when he was struck by a vehicle in Los Alamos, according to the California Highway Patrol.
At 7:30 a.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and CHP responded to the collision near the southbound onramp to Highway 101 at Highway 135.
The 13-year-old boy was westbound riding against the flow of traffic on his bike when a vehicle driven by Karen Nielsen, 50, of Los Alamos was turning right and struck him, CHP Officer Michael Gruver said.
The boy was thrown from his bike and received major injuries, Gruver said.
The child was taken by Calstar medical helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Drugs or alcohol were not believed to be factors in the incident, Gruver said.
The boy was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, he added.
The child was en route to Olga Reed Elementary School, where students, faculty and staff remained hopeful about the boy’s condition, Principal Joe Dana said several hours after the accident.
“Anytime something like this happens, I have another gray hair on my head,” he said. “We worry about these kids.”
School officials intend to use the accident as a teachable moment to remind children about bicycle and pedestrian safety, Dana added.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.
