News

Bicyclist, 6, Survives FedEx Tractor Trailor Crash


Posted on May 30, 2009

A FedEx tractor trailor crashed into a 6-year old bicyclist, dragging and mangling the boy's bike for a half mile.  Miraculously, the child survived, receiving non-life threatening injuries. 

The 6-year-old Kimball Wiles Elementary student, Lemarcus Rayford, was riding his bike on the sidewalk, approaching Tower Square on Tower Road in Gainesville, Fla. on May 26, 2009.  According to the Gainesville Sun, the child was hit at a stop-sign intersection as the truck made at right-hand turn. 

Extraordinarily, the boy dodged the trailer's 18 tires and received minor head injuries as the truck passed over him. Immediately after impact, the child walked unassisted to Tower Square shopping plaza where onlookers called EMS. 

The semi dragged the bicycle for a half mile until a nearby Florida Highway Patrol trooper stopped the truck.  The FedEx driver, Erick Hague, of Marion County, was apparently unaware of his impact with the bicyclist.

Initial reports state that the child was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and was operating a bicycle without brakes.  As seen in Gainesville Sun photos, it was likely raining at the time of the crash.

For more information:

Child Cyclists and Motor Vehicles - Safety Tips to Save a Child's Life

Semi's and Bicycles generally a deadly combination - Know the law and teach bicycle safety to your children

Bicyclists - Know the Law and Stay Alive

Gainesville Sun article

Gainesville Sun Video Recount of Accident (and article)

Gainesville Sun Accident Photo Gallery

 

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I am local Accident Attorney, Jeffrey Meldon, and I strongly believe that public education is the first step in the prevention of and/or recovery from a serious accident. 

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