A Milwaukee mother is asking drivers to have a heightened awareness of kids on their bicycles after her son was hit by a car a week ago.
As temperatures heat up and kids hit the pavement with their bikes and one doctor mom has a reminder for drivers.
"Please, please be careful," said Dr. Lindsey Loveland Baptist.
The mom of four is thankful her son was out riding his bike Friday night after being hit by a car a week ago.
"He hit his head and he said his ear hurt and he had a bit of a headache and some scrapes, but really overall OK," Loveland Baptist said.
A driver hit 10-year-old Blaise Baptist when he was riding his bike home from school on Downer Avenue.
"I was feeling scared," Blaise said.
He thought he made eye contact with the person in the car before making his way across the intersection. The driver said he never even saw the 10-year-old.
"Everybody stopped. The bystanders all helped my son. They got him out of the street. They got him sitting down on the curb," Loveland Baptist said.
Loveland Baptist also happens to be an anesthesiologist at Children's Hospital. Even though she is grateful the bystanders helped her son, she said it would have been better if they would have called police or EMS.
"It hits close to him because I take care of kids at work all the time that have been hit or much more seriously injured in accidents and we tend to see so much more trauma in the summer," Loveland Baptist said.
She hopes her family's close call can be a reminder for all drives.
"He's really really lucky. We're really lucky nothing worse happened, but some kids aren't," Loveland Baptist said.
Safe Kids Worldwide has reminders for young bikers:
- Wear a properly fitted helmet.
- Ride on the sidewalk when you can. If not, ride in the same direction as traffic as far on the right-hand side as possible.
- Use hand signals and follow the rules of the road.
- Wear bright colors and use lights, especially when riding at night and in the morning.
- Ride with your children. Stick together until you are comfortable that your kids are ready to ride on their own.
For more information visit the Safe Kids website.
