Bicyclist Injured in Baldwin Park Police Car Collision

by

Child Cyclist Injured by Police Car in Baldwin Park

A young bicyclist was injured after being hit by a police car in Baldwin Park, CA. The incident occurred at the intersection of Pacific and Vineland Avenues on Wednesday morning.

The accident happened just before 7 a.m. on May 14. An officer noticed a vehicle speeding through a red light and attempted to stop it.

While making a left turn on a green light, the officer accidentally struck a 9-year-old riding a bike in the crosswalk.

Emergency services treated the child at the scene before transporting them to a hospital for further care. The child’s current condition remains unknown.

The officer involved was not injured. The driver who ran the red light fled the scene and remains at large.

Authorities continue to investigate the incident. For those affected by similar accidents, seeking legal assistance from a Car Accident Attorney at the Law Offices of Burg & Brock can be beneficial.

What California law says after a bicycle accident

Right of way rules for people walking and cycling

California drivers must yield to a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk, and a crosswalk exists at most intersections whether or not it is painted. Drivers approaching a pedestrian in a crosswalk must also slow down or take other care for that person’s safety. Pedestrians in turn must not leave a curb so suddenly that a driver cannot yield.

Since the 2023 change commonly called the Freedom to Walk Act, an officer generally may not stop a pedestrian for crossing outside a crosswalk unless there is an immediate danger of a collision. That change limits enforcement; it does not remove the pedestrian’s duty to use care, and in a civil case that duty still counts when fault is divided.

A related rule addresses visibility. Parking is prohibited within twenty feet of the approach side of any crosswalk, marked or unmarked, and within fifteen feet where a curb extension is present. A vehicle parked in that zone can hide a person stepping into the roadway from an approaching driver, and since January 2025 the restriction is enforceable whether or not the curb is painted.

For bicycles, the Three Feet for Safety Act requires a driver passing a cyclist travelling in the same direction to leave at least three feet of clearance, and where another lane in the same direction is available and it is practicable and lawful, to change lanes before passing. Where three feet is not possible, the driver must slow to a reasonable and prudent speed and pass only when it would not endanger the cyclist.

Being outside a crosswalk, or not wearing a helmet, does not by itself establish that a pedestrian or cyclist was legally at fault. Under California’s comparative fault rule, those facts are weighed alongside everything else that happened.

California filing deadlines for injury and death claims

In California, a lawsuit for personal injury caused by another person’s negligence generally must be filed within two years of the injury, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. A claim for a death caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect runs under the same two-year period.

Shorter deadlines apply in specific situations. If a city, county or state agency may be responsible, a written claim must normally be presented to that public entity within six months. Claims involving minors, injuries that are not discovered right away, and certain defendants can follow different timelines.

Which deadline applies depends on the facts of each situation, and the standard two-year period does not govern every claim.

Your Rights After a Bicycle Accident in California

A collision like this one raises questions about fault, insurance and medical costs, usually before anyone has had time to think about them. These guides explain how California handles them.