Sheriff’s recruit in grave condition; one of 25 trainees hit by car in South Whittier Tuesday
Updated 11:12 am, Tuesday, February 3, 2013
A young woman who was hit in the head by a vehicle has undergone surgery at the Whittier Hospital and is in critical condition, officials said today.
Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Clark said the woman was a 19-year-old woman who was struck about 9 a.m. while riding her bicycle near the intersection of Loma Vista Park and Park Boulevard in the city’s South Whittier.
She was unconscious when she was found by a police officer and taken to the hospital with a head injury, Clark said.
He said it’s believed she might have been struck by a hit-and-run driver, or perhaps by a motor vehicle that was driven by someone who ran a red light at the intersection. The intersection does have a stop sign and is at least 25 feet from a crosswalk, he said.
A car that was struck by the cyclist suffered minor injuries, Clark said. The man riding the car was apparently not injured, Clark said.
There have been at least eight similar incidents so far that officers have investigated, Clark said, and they plan to increase patrols in the area.
Earlier this month, a girl was hit by a car outside the intersection of South Whittier Boulevard and West Pico Boulevard after her bicycle was hit by a vehicle that allegedly ran a red light.
At 10:27 a.m. Saturday, a 17 year-old boy was hit by a motor vehicle while on a bicycle at the intersection of San Gabriel Boulevard and Central in the city’s Highland Park. He was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was in serious condition. His bike was stolen by the driver. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, the sheriff’s office said at the time.
About a week prior, another boy was hit by a car while he
