11-year-old had minor leg injury after accident

An 11-year-old Marion girl was taken to St. Luke Hospital on Monday for a minor leg injury after being hit by a vehicle in the 400 block of E. Main St. while riding her bicycle.

The girl had no blood loss or head injuries despite not wearing a helmet, said Marion County EMS director Travis Parmley.

“We were happy she was awake and oriented,” he said. “There was no head injury and that would be the one thing. I wish every child would wear a helmet, but I grew up not wearing one.”

It was fortunate the situation wasn’t worse, Parmley said.

Dealing with children’s injuries around that age can be difficult because their bodies aren’t fully developed, but they also recover faster in the event of blood loss, he said.

“That age range of pre-teens is on the border of where we look at treating them as children vs. adults as far as physiology,” he said.

The accident highlighted was a teachable moment on the importance of road safety, police officer Duane McCarty said.

A witness reportedly saw the bicyclist ride through the crosswalk without waiting for the vehicle to stop, McCarty said.

“You wait for the vehicle that’s supposed to stop for you if they have the time and can do it safely,” he said.

Bicycles are also not supposed to be ridden through crosswalks, McCarty said.

Bikes have to be walked through crosswalks because cyclists adhere to the same rules as drivers.

“That’s for pedestrians,” he said. “It’d be no different than if you drove a motorcycle through there or a car. A bicycle is the same rules of the road.”