An inattentive driver nearly kills a Brookings child, and KELO-TV and the cops shift the blame from driver to child:
A 6-year-old girl was flown to Sioux Falls for treatment after a crash involving a pickup and her bicycle Wednesday in Brookings.
Brookings Police say the girl was riding through the crosswalk of a southeastern intersection when a pickup making a left turn tried to avoid her.
The girl struck the side of the truck and was taken to the hospital with what may be injuries to her lower body [Collete Stellinga, “Six-Year-Old Injured in Brookings Crash,” KELO-TV, 2026.09.03].
Let’s rewrite that for accuracy:
The driver of a pickup truck turned illegally into an occupied crosswalk, injuring a six-year-old girl who was legally riding her bicycle in the crosswalk.
That driver had no business making a left turn while anyone was in the crosswalk. There would have been no side of a truck for the little girl’s bike to crash into if the truck driver had been driving legally and safely. The driver should have looked, seen the little girl on the bicycle in the crosswalk, stopped cold, waited for the little girl to reach the other side of the street, double-checked for anyone else crossing that same street, then, once sure the way was clear, executed the turn.
Six-year-old girls and the rest of us have the right to ride our bicycles legally and safely. Automobile drivers have a legal and moral obligation to watch out and not put people traveling under their own power in the hospital. News reports of traffic crashes like this should not use language that reverses the rights and blame and suggests cars are the blameless kings of the road.
This is in no way an excuse: bicycles and motorcycles are invisible to motorists. We must over-sensitize ourselves to watch for them.
Was the girl on an e-bike? Those are an unsafe menace.
My understanding is you’re not supposed to ride your bike through a crosswalk. We also don’t know if the girl stopped before crossing. While perhaps the driver should still have been more attentive, this is why we always teach kids stop, get off your bike and walk it across. Adults should do it too.
I think more information is needed before being too hard on the driver.