La Crescenta boy hit by SUV

Six-year-old was not wearing helmet, apparently rode scooter into street from his driveway.

By Josh Kleinbaum
News-Press

May 28, 2003

LA CRESCENTA — A 6-year-old boy from La Crescenta remained at Huntington Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, the day after he suffered severe head injuries when he apparently rode his scooter into the path of a sport-utility vehicle.

The boy, who was not wearing a helmet, was hit by a Chevy Tahoe about 11:30 a.m. Monday. He was taken to Huntington Memorial in Pasadena by a Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter.

The collision occurred on Fairmont Avenue, just east of La Crescenta Avenue, when the boy rode his scooter out of his driveway and into the street, officials said. Members of the Montrose Search and Rescue team, driving from La Cañada Flintridge's Memorial Day parade to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station, heard the call and responded. Along with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, they treated the boy for major head and chest trauma.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.

Mike Leum, a member of the search-and-rescue team who treated the boy, said Tuesday the boy was still suffering from bleeding in the head and was on a respirator.

"This points out how vitally important it is for children to wear helmets when riding bikes, scooters, skates — anything in the street," CHP Officer Vince Bell said. "It would have been a substantially less severe injury if he'd been wearing a helmet."

The driver of the Tahoe is also from La Crescenta.