A Heber City teen was seriously injured by a truck while biking to school

HEBER, Utah — A 14-year-old boy riding his bike to school was seriously injured after being hit by a truck Thursday morning.

The teen, although not identified, is a student at Wasatch High School, which is located less than a half-mile from the scene.

The teen was crossing the intersection of 500 East and 1200 South in Heber City at 7:45 when the accident occurred, police reported.

The teen was using a crosswalk, where yellow warning lights were flashing to indicate a pedestrian was using it, when a work truck failed to yield and struck the teen.

“There were cars parked on both sides of the road, so people noticed the lights were on,” said Sgt. Joshua Weishar. “There were about thirty feet of skid marks. He tried to stop before he hit the student but they continued about fifty feet after that.

After being injured, the teen was taken to hospital with serious injuries, and officials reported that he is now in critical but stable condition.

“It’s just an unfortunate event that happened this morning,” Weishaar said. “It’s preventable, of course, but it’s still unfortunate.”

The truck driver, although not identified, was charged with failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a school driveway.

This is the third accident this month in Utah in which a teen riding a bike was injured or killed after being hit by a car.

On September 3 in Uintah County, a woman was arrested after hitting 15-year-old Domanique Cole, who was riding his bike with another person in Ballard. He died as a result of his injuries sustained in the accident.

Two days later, on September 5, 16-year-old Soraya Manacaga was struck and killed by a garbage truck in Tremonton while she was riding her bike. The accident is currently being investigated to determine if the driver will face any charges.

Just a few days ago, a 13-year-old in Sunset was involved in a hit-and-run accident while riding his bike home from school.

Police arrested a 25-year-old woman for failure to remain at the scene of an accident, not having a valid driver’s license and no proof of insurance.

“This is just an indication of the fact that our transportation system is not safe,” said Chris Wiltse, co-director of Bike Utah.

Wiltse said there must be bigger solutions besides asking drivers to pay attention.

“What we really need to do is redesign our street to be safe,” he said. “Especially around the schools. I think that’s like our low hanging fruit.”