Middle school student on bike injured in hit-and-run near campus in Sacramento County
A 12-year-old middle school student riding a bicycle was struck by a vehicle and injured Thursday morning in a reported hit-and-run near the campus in Sacramento County.
The hit-and-run collision occurred at a crosswalk near Albert Einstein Middle School, according to Principal Chase Tafoya. The school is on Mirandy Drive, just north of Kiefer Boulevard in Rosemont.
In a letter to parents, Tafoya said one of Albert Einstein Middle School’s students was riding a bicycle and struck by a vehicle. She said the student was trying to cross the street at a crosswalk near the school.
The principal said the vehicle’s driver did not stop after the student was struck. Law enforcement officials were investigating the collision “as a hit-and-run,” Tafoya said, and she urged students who witnessed the collision to contact the California Highway Patrol.
On Thursday afternoon, the CHP East Sacramento Area Office released a photo of the vehicle investigators believe struck the 12-year-old boy near the school.
The CHP said the hit-and-run occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday, when the boy riding his bicycle in the marked crosswalk was struck by the vehicle on Mirandy Drive, east of Huntsman Drive in front of the school.
Investigators believe an unidentified driver of a silver 2001 to 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe heading east on Mirandy Drive hit the boy on the bicycle and drove away, the CHP said. The boy suffered minor injuries in the crash and was taken to a hospital.
The school principal said campus officials have reached out to the student’s family.
“We will be investigating how this incident happened to see if there are any steps that we can take to make our routes to school safer,” Tafoya said in the letter to parents, “but more importantly we are focused on providing support to the student and their family.”
She said the hit-and-run should serve as a reminder for everyone, especially students and drivers, to be more mindful of safety in and near neighborhood school zones. The principal said drivers should always use extreme caution and slow down, even when students aren’t visible.
Investigators asked anyone who witnessed Thursday’s hit-and-run, can identify the vehicle and or its driver or has video of the incident to call the CHP at 916-464-1450 or send an email to tsenter@chp.ca.gov.
This story was originally published September 26, 2024 at 12:21 PM.
