Truck hits rider on path
A GEELONG mother is urging motorists to “expect the unexpected” when leaving driveways after her 11-yearold daughter was hit by a truck while riding her bike along the footpath.
Poppy O’Brien’s hand was badly broken when she was knocked off her bike about 1.45pm on July 16 as she was legally riding along Grovedale’s Marshalltown Rd towards Bailey St.
Alice Doherty said her daughter was riding to a friend’s house when the truck hit her as it exited the driveway of a local business.
“Poppy’s a really responsible kid and she knows that she’s not allowed on the road and has to ride on the footpath,” Ms Doherty said.
“But she came home not long after really pale and shaking with a very swollen and bleeding hand.”
Ms Doherty said she drove Poppy to hospital where it was confirmed her hand was broken when she fell to the ground after being hit.
She said Poppy had told her the driver stopped and got out to check that she was OK, and retrieved her bike for her from under his truck before driving off.
Her hand was placed in a splint for eight weeks and she continues to undergo physiotherapy to help regain her strength in the hand.
Ms Doherty said she was grateful her daughter’s injuries were not any worse, but said what happened should act as a reminder to all drivers to exercise caution when exiting driveways given children could be riding or walking past.
“Motorists should expect the unexpected, because if something goes wrong and someone gets seriously injured or killed, you’d have to live with it for the rest of your life,” she said. “It only takes two seconds of not paying attention and everybody’s lives are changed forever.”
Senior associate Anna Jennings-Edquist, from Slater and Gordon Lawyers, said it was legal in Victoria for children to ride on the footpath up to the age of 12 while they were still building their bike skills.
“Kids in particular are vulnerable to being injured or even killed, because they may not expect cars coming out of driveways and are less likely to have the reflexes to be able to react in time,” Ms Jennings-Edquist said.
Figures released by the Monash University Accident Research Centre reveal there was a 62 per cent increase in emergency department presentations in Victoria by injured cyclists from October 2019 to October 2020.