Idaho Teen hit in crosswalk, insurance for driver refusing to pay medical bills

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Idaho Teen hit in crosswalk, insurance for driver refusing to pay medical bills KHQ Right Now

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- It was a vehicle vs. pedestrian accident that was caught on camera. The family of the boy who was hit hoped the driver's insurance company would cover the medical bills and bicycle repairs associated with the incident, but they learned despite cameras capturing the whole thing, they were in for quite the fight.

Vicky Clark said her 15-year-old son Michael has always been a bright light, even during life's heartbreaks.

"His father passed away six-years-ago," Vicky said. "His grandmother died two years later."

But that grandma made sure Michael always had something to remind him of her.

"She left him that bike," she said.

They were not the typical wheels for a high schooler.

"It was a recumbent bike," Vicky said. "Some say it is kind of dorky. But he loved it. He was very proud to ride that bike."

That's exactly what he was doing in October of 2019. He was heading home for the day as captured in CDA High School surveillance footage the day the incident happened.

"He was in a crosswalk," Vicky told our Help Me Hayley. "The one right here at Hoffman and Fourth."

Instead of telling us what went down, Vicky wanted to show us. She provided video from the school's cameras. You can view it in the video version of this report.

"Michael comes down here and he comes to a stop," Vicky said about the clip. "A black car comes and wants to turn. They stop because they see Michael. Another car comes from the opposite direction that stops because they also see Michael."

With everyone stopped, Michael entered the marked crosswalk. As he did, a third car hits him. Video captured that same car leaving the high school parking lot seconds earlier.

"I just started to cry...when I saw his body hit the ground," Vicky said.

As disturbing as that is for Vicky to watch, it is what happens in the next 30 seconds that continues to bother her every single day.

"She never leaves her vehicle," Vicky said after watching the footage. "(He told me) she leaned out the window. You can't see that happen. Says are you okay as he's being pulled from the street. He said yes and she leaves."

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KHQ reviewed the video, and less than 30 seconds after Michael was hit, the driver did take off. It is important to note, the police report indicates she did get out of the vehicle to check on Michael, but the footage KHQ looked at appears to contradict tell a different story.

Vicky got the call about the accident and rushed to the high school. She said her son was waiting for her in the office, sitting in a wheelchair.

"They told me they would like me to take him to the hospital," she said. "He was acting confused and complaining of a hurt leg."

Medical records, and the big bills tied to them, show it was just a sprain. He had cuts and bumps too, but his beloved bicycle took most of the damage.

The school was able to identify the driver after an employee recognized the vehicle involved. They told Vicky it was a fellow student. She was sure the young driver's insurance company would take care of his doctor bills and repair the damage to the beloved bicycle

"I just wanted them to pay for his medical bills and replace his bike," she said. "That's all I asked for."

But that claim would be denied by All State. In a letter to the family, they said despite being in a marked crosswalk, they found Michael was '65 percent responsible' for the accident. A police report claims a witness had also come forward stating Michael did not pause before entering the crosswalk. The family has been battling this ...

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Talk about police incompetence. But no matter where you are, the police always seem to give "the benefit of the doubt" to the car driver. According to the KHQ report, the officer never saw the video, and the school isn't helping, either. With that video, the police can charge the driver. Something is really rotten here, not just Allstate (not that I'm defending them in any way.) They are as guilty as A.D. has stated. All insurance companies are bad news—they never fail to make a profit, one way or the other.

I hope the local community gets behind the mother and her child. Social pressure can do a lot. If she needs money, she should start a "GoFundMe" or similar account.

I hope the kid learns what I taught my kids when they started to ride: "Never forget that you are invisible. Drivers will not see you. If they can see you, they are probably trying to hit you. Ride accordingly." Sure, it puts car and truck drivers in a bad light, but which would you rather be, wary or dead?

 

Managed to learn something in almost seventy years …

It's things like this that make me wish my Lightning P-38 came with the USAAF P-38 armament … (I ordered it that way. Tim Brummer got a good laugh out of it. )