Driver of flatbed truck collides with, kills boy on bicycle

A Palo Alto boy riding a bicycle was killed Friday night after the driver of a flatbed truck collided with the child, Palo Alto police said.

The bicyclist and the truck were both headed east on California Avenue, with the boy riding on the sidewalk, about 7:40 p.m. when the truck made a right turn onto El Camino Real and collided with the cyclist, police said.

Police did not release the name of the middle-school-age boy. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, a Palo Alto man in his 60s, stayed at the scene and cooperated with police. He was not cited or arrested, pending the outcome of an investigation.

Police do not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the collision.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision and who has not already spoken with police about it is encouraged to call the police department’s 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail to (650) 383-8984.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through a free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

---

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story read, “A Palo Alto boy riding a bicycle was killed Friday night after colliding with a flatbed truck…” The text has since been changed to reflect that the truck collided with the child. The headline originally read, “Boy on bicycle dies after collision with flatbed truck,” and has since been changed.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: It was the goal to communicate this tragic story neutrally and without assigning fault yet to be determined by law enforcement. However, some readers perceived the language as assigning blame to the child, which was sincerely never the intention. I deeply apologize for that. Our outlet has always been dedicated to the cycling and pedestrian community and strives to regularly highlight the need for increased street safety, and we will continue to do so.